Red Velvet Cake is a favorite in my household, almost as much as brownies. Red Velvet Cake is the dessert my mother always made for special occasions — especially birthdays, Valentine’s Day, Independence Day, or Christmas. And it’s the dessert that, when served, made any occasion special. It’s rich, dense, sweet, buttery, and very, very pretty! So its namesake brownie had to be equally special. Here’s my simplified, “box mix” approach to this lovely recipe.

Drink it in with your eyeballs, my friends. The Red Velvet Brownie is a visual stunner!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 and 1/2 cups milk (any percent is fine)
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 box red velvet cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1 package cream cheese
• 1 cup water
• 1 and 1/2 cups butter (do *NOT* use margarine, as it will not fluff up properly)
• 1 and 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

DIRECTIONS – FROSTING, STEP 1

Put milk and flour into a microwave-safe dish and mix completely. (I like to use a fork, but that’s just me.)

Do this:

• Microwave for 60 seconds on 20% power; remove from oven and stir.
• Repeat.
• Repeat.
• Repeat.

(Use 20% power, not 100%. You want to avoid scalding your milk.)

At this point, you’ll have cooked your mixture for a total of 4 minutes and you’re ALMOST done. Your goal is a smooth, thick consistency, like a gravy you might pour over biscuits. It should take a total of about 6 minutes of cooking time — but you don’t want to cook it any longer than you have to.

So now, do this, but ONLY until it gets thick:

• Microwave for 30 seconds on 20% power.
• Repeat.
• Repeat.
• Repeat.

Here's a rule of thumb to see if your goo is properly thick. Scoop up some goo with your fork; if it clings to the fork for a second before running through the tines, you're done cooking!

Do not overcook. After about 6 minutes total, you should be done. Stir well until smooth. Cover and set aside, so it can cool completely before step 2 of frosting, later.

Adding plastic wrap on top of your cooked flour/milk mixture will keep it from making a tough skin as it cools.

DIRECTIONS – BATTER

In a large bowl, add cream cheese and egg. With electric mixer, beat until smooth, about 1 minute.

Add cake mix, water, and oil. Mix on slow speed until blended, then on medium for 2 minutes.

Oh, pretty. Pretty, pretty, pretty. (Sigh.)

Pour into a greased 9×13 pan.

Keep yer dang fingers outta the batter!

Bake at 350 F for about 20-25 minutes or until a center-placed toothpick comes out crumbly but nearly clean.

One of the keys to success is to avoid overbaking. Use a toothpick test for the last few minutes of baking and remove as soon as it's done.

DIRECTIONS – FROSTING, STEP 2

Before this next step, check the temperature of your “cooked flour/milk” mixture. If it is **completely cooled to room temperature**, you may proceed. (Also, if you chose to cool your flour/milk in the refrigerator, let it return to room temperature before moving forward.)

Allow your butter to soften outside of the refrigerator for about 5 or 10 minutes. With an electric mixer on medium-high, beat sugar, butter, and vanilla together in a large bowl until it turns snowy white, about 3 minutes. Next, add the flour mixture.

Add your cooked and cooled flour/milk mixture.

Start the mixer slowly. Don’t be afraid that your frosting will look entirely HIDEOUS at this stage. Consider it a baby swan that will soon grow into an elegant, angelic creature.

I've always felt that this "ugly duckling" stage looks a little like half-cooked scrambled eggs. Eww.

Mix on highest speed until you notice a beautiful, magical change in texture–causing it to look and act like real whipped cream–about 2-3 minutes.

Oh. Yes. Fluffy, sparkly, and TOTALLY HOMEMADE! This just might ruin you for tub frosting for the rest of your life. Sorry 'bout that.

Only after your brownies are completely cooled should you add the frosting. Pile it on. Make big fluffy swirls. Remember, this will spread a lot differently than pre-made “tub” frosting. That’s. Cuz. It’s. Homemade.

This recipe will give you the luxury of a big ol’ thick layer. Oh my goo’ness–I’m getting lightheaded as I type this.

With this frosting, you must refrigerate this dessert. A small price to pay for the absolute decadence of it all. Serve your Red Velvet Brownies while wearing red lipstick and a mischievous smile.

Much easier than making a 2-layer cake: It's the Red Velvet Brownie!

It’s Easter season and time to make a brownie recipe that features those kooky, adorable Peeps marshmallow treats. Looky! It’s a brownie pond… Let’s jump in!

Thanks to Jaime Santillan for the adorable studio shot above. Jaime takes amazing photos.

Five-year-old Ella, my friend's daughter, is mesmerized by the peeps and the fish. Such a wonderful Easter moment here!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 box brownie mix (I used Pillsbury Dark Chocolate in the “13 x 9 family size”)
• Oil, eggs, and water as directed on box
• Jelly fruit slices, about 20
• 1 box pudding mix, white chocolate or vanilla flavor (I used Jell-O White Chocolate)
• 2 cups of cold milk, any % is fine
• Blue food coloring, 10-20 droplets
• 1 16-ounce tub Cool Whip topping
• Marshmallow Peeps Chicks
• Fun garnishes (may I suggest some daffodil leaves and a tiny grape hyacinth?)

DIRECTIONS

Mix brownies as directed on box, using the “extra egg” version of the recipe. I also suggest using a 13×9 family-size box, as you’ll need as much brownie as possible to fill your trifle bowl.

Pour batter into a greased pan, bake as directed on box, and let brownies cool. You can do the next few steps while brownies are baking or while they are cooling.

Mix instant pudding with cold milk and about 3 drops of blue food coloring.

Pudding mix + milk + blue food coloring = An equation for pudding greatness

Whisk as directed on box.

Mmmm. Pond water never looked so delicious.

At first, your pudding may be blue-green rather than straight blue, because most light-colored puddings are a bit yellow-ish. Don’t worry; a few more drops of blue coloring will help. Whisk in a few more drops at a time until you’re happy with the color. After a few minutes of whisking, the pudding will be thick. Put it in the refrigerator while you do the next few steps.

Cut your jelly candies into fish shapes. Start by cutting the jelly in half.

Cut in half, revealing the SUPER-STICKY inside of the candy.

Then make a few cuts to create the appearance of a fish body and tail fin. My advice is: “Cut away everything that doesn’t look like a fish.” If that’s not enough direction for you, remember that all you need to do is cut away 4 tiny triangles. Follow the 4 easy steps below.

Cut #1: Create the top of the body and top of the tail.

Cut #2: Create the bottom of the body and bottom of the tail.

Cut #3: Create a notch in the tail.

Cut #4: If you're feeling particularly chipper, cut a smile into the fishie's face.

One by one, stick your fish onto the inside of the trifle bowl, about 1 inch above the bottom. The gooey jelly will serve as a very strong adhesive against the glass.

"Hi, I'm a green fish!" "Hi, I'm an orange fish!" "Do you smell brownies?" "Yep!"

Cats like this recipe. A lot.

Here's what your ring of fish should look like.

Crumble one-third to one-half of your cooled brownies into the trifle bowl. Set aside the remaining one-half to two-thirds of brownie to use in a higher layer.

Try to resist the urge to scarf those brownies. You'll need all those crumbles to fill up your trifle bowl.

It’s OK to use bigger brownie chunks in the center of the bowl, but when you get near the fish, use fine, small crumbles to fit in the crevices between the fish. It will make your fish stand out better.

By using smaller crumbles near your fish, you will help those cute little fishy features (fins, smiles) stand out better.

Get in the frig’. (Not literally. Don’t be silly.) Get out the blue pudding and pour it in an even layer over the brownie crumbs.

Yum. I love pudding and brownie together.

It's starting to get REALLY CUTE in that dish!

Add another layer of fish.

More fish = more awesome!

Add the rest of your crumbled brownies.

Again, be sure you use the finer brownie crumbles near the side so you can clearly see the outline of your fishy masterpieces.

Add 3-4 drops of blue food coloring into the Cool Whip. Mix. You can add more coloring until you achieve the color you want for your pond surface.

You could use plain white Cool Whip for your pond surface, but I liked the idea of adding some more color.

Pour 90% of the blue Cool Whip onto your brownie surface.

Reserve about 10% of the Cool Whip so you can add some extra color.

In the remaining 10% of Cool Whip, add 1 or 2 more drops of blue color. Don’t mix it in. Instead, spoon the unmixed blob of Cool Whip and color onto the top of your pond.

Here is how you make pretty blue ripples on your pond.

Without mixing too much, use a spoon to make round, sweeping swirls on your pond surface. The food coloring will create a nice medium-blue ripple in your light-blue pond water. Cute!

The ripples are there, but what's missing? Something to swim on them!

Add your marshmallow Peeps as floating decor on the surface of your Easter pond.

Aww. These little darlings are just icing on the cake.

My Peeps looked like they needed company, so I also added a few fresh leaves and flowers from my spring garden. Even the fish looked happy.

I hope you all have a happy springtime. This recipe is a great way to kick off the season with some "quality time with the kids."

I’m stating the obvious here: A 7.5-ounce box of Samoas Girl Scout Cookies just is not enough. They’re too delicious to stop eating after only 1 or 2 cookies. Seriously, I can pound down half of that box in one sitting. So I made a brownie recipe that stretches out the coconutty delight of the Samoas, making enough for an entire party!

Oh, the coconutty deliciousness of the Samoas Girl Scout Brownie.

INGREDIENTS    - IF YOU LIKE SAMOAS -

• 1 box brownie mix (I used Ghirardelli Chocolate Supreme)
• Eggs, oil, and water as directed on box
• One 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk (I used Eagle Brand)
• 1 ounce (1 square) unsweetened chocolate (I used Nestle Pre-Melted Choco-Bake)
• 1 cup chopped or halved pecans, toasted on a cookie sheet for 5 minutes at 350F
• 1 box Samoas Girl Scout cookies (7.5 ounces)

Here are the ingredients for those who LIKE Samoas. (If you LOVE them, you may want to use the ingredients listed below.)

INGREDIENTS    - IF YOU LOVE SAMOAS -

• 1 box brownie mix (I used Ghirardelli Chocolate Supreme)
• Eggs, oil, and water as directed on box
• One 16-ounce tub caramel dip (I used T. Marzetti Brand)
• 1 cup sweetened, flaked coconut, toasted on a cookie sheet for 4-5 minutes at 350F
• 1 box Samoas Girl Scout cookies (7.5 ounces)

DIRECTIONS

Mix together brownie mix, eggs, oil, and water as directed on box. Pour batter into greased pan.

If you like Samoas: Pour condensed milk into a bowl. Melt square of unsweetened chocolate and mix it in.

If you love Samoas, open your tub of caramel and stir it until it’s smooth.

Set aside half of the chocolate-milk mixture (or caramel). Pour the other half on top of the brownie batter.

Pour HALF of your gooey mixture of choice onto the unbaked batter. Save the other half for later.

Swirl it in with a knife.

This is ALMOST the funnest part.

Lick the knife. You know you gotta do it.

THIS is the funnest part.

Bake as directed on box. While baking, chop up the Samoa cookies into pieces.

Seems like a tragedy. But soon, you'll be happy again.

After brownies come out of the oven, let them cool if you have time. If you’re pressed for time, you can move on, but you may have a pretty gooey dessert on your hands. Drizzle the other half of your goo (either caramel or the milk-chocolate mixture) over the top.

Most important to remember at this stage: Do not drool on your own brownies.

Now, if you want toasted pecans in your recipe, add them on top of the sticky goo. If you want toasted coconut in your recipe, add that instead.

Mmm, pecans/coconut flakes are so much better when they are toasted vs when they are raw.

Top it all off with the chopped Samoas Girl Scout Cookies.

Cookie becomes garnish.

If you want a more “set-up” brownie, you can chill the pan in the refrigerator before cutting and serving.

Ridiculously delicious. Sticky. Nutty. Caramelly. And, using this brownie recipe, you’ll turn a 7.5-ounce box of Samoas Girl Scout cookies into more than 3 pounds of giddy, gooey delight. Dive in!

Every spring, the Easter Bunny ushers in both Girl Scout Cookies and the Samoas Brownie. Enjoy.

These green, mint-abulous St. Patrick’s Day brownies will wink and say, “Top o’ the mornin’ to ye.”

Serve them for a Saint Patrick’s Day party or anytime. They’re as rich, cool, and refreshing as the ice cream that donated its namesake. And they have a frosty crunch! You’ll want two scoops, for sure.

INGREDIENTS

BATTER
1 box brownie mix
(For this recipe, I used Duncan Hines Chewy Fudge Family Size)
Eggs, oil, and water as called for on the box

TOPPING
1 tub vanilla frosting
(For this recipe, I used Duncan Hines Creamy Home-Style)
2 tsp mint extract, more or less to taste
Green food coloring, about 4-5 droplets
6 oz green swirl mint candy (like Brach’s Spearmint Discs)
6 oz (about 1/2 bag) miniature chocolate chips
(For this recipe, I used Nestle Semi-Sweet Mini Chips)

DIRECTIONS
Mix batter ingredients and bake according to box instructions. Allow to cool.

In the meantime, add mint extract to frosting and mix completely. Then add a few droplets of green food coloring and mix completely. You’ll need only 4 or 5 drops to get a good “minty” color. Set aside.

Unwrap mint candies and place in a zippered bag. Beat those pretty green candies senseless with something heavy — say, a rolling pin or a bowling ball, whichever is handy in your kitchen.

This will take a LOT of crushing because you want a lot of fine powder. If you start breaking through the zippered bag, use a second bag. And take pride in your enthusiasm.

Use a sieve to sift the mint powder from the small pieces.

Your goal is to have about 3/4 cup of fine minty powder and 1/4 cup of tiny fragments, no bigger than your pinky nail. Set aside the candy fragments to use as a garnish. Mix the powder into the frosting.

Add 3/4 cup of mini chips into the frosting and stir the frosting.

Spread frosting onto cooled brownies.

Top the frosting with a handful of mini chips.

Add as many of the candy fragments as you like, to create a crispy, crunchy, and appealing garnish for your Saint Patrick’s Day creation.

Saint Patrick would LOVE this brownie recipe.

It’s just like a cherry cordial — one that’s big enough to need a plate. BAM! Cupid just shot a thousand tiny arrows into your taste buds. Deal with that.

BATTER INGREDIENTS

• 1 box brownie mix (Ghirardelli Ultimate Fudge, with the fudge icing packet included)
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine
• 1 or 2 eggs (1 for a shorter, fudgier brownie; 2 for a taller, fluffier brownie)
• 1/3 cup water

FILLING INGREDIENTS

• 1 8-ounce package cream cheese
• 1 12-ounce jar marshmallow topping (the kind you drizzle over ice cream)
• 2-3 teaspoons almond extract, to taste
• 1/3 cup juice from a maraschino cherry jar
• 15-25 maraschino cherries, depending on pan size

DIRECTIONS
Open box mix and set aside the fudge icing packet, which you’ll use after the baking. Be careful when buying your brownie mix for this recipe. Don’t confuse a “put-the-fudge-packet-INTO-the-batter” mix with a “put-the-fudge-packet-ON-TOP-OF-the-baked-brownie” mix. (The into-the-batter packets are usually not very sweet and won’t work as a frosting.)

Pour powdered brownie mix into a large bowl.

Melt butter or margarine in microwave (about 25-30 seconds) and add it to the brownie mix, along with the eggs and water. Mix thoroughly and spread batter in a greased pan.

In a medium bowl, place cream cheese and marshmallow topping. Mix with hand beater on medium speed just until completely mixed.

By hand, mix in the cherries, almond extract, and maraschino juice. It will be the prettiest shade of pink!

Using a tablespoon, scoop up one cherry and a spoonful of the cherry filling. Place this cherry-pink filling down into the chocolate batter. Don’t just put a dollop on top of the batter; try to get it down in there.

Plan ahead on how you will space the cherries into your pan. Each brownie should have one cherry in its center. I used an 11×7 pan and I used 24 cherries in 6 rows of 4 cherries.

Bake until a toothpick placed into the chocolate part comes out nearly clean, about 25-40 minutes, depending on the size of your pan.

Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Soften the fudge icing packet by placing it under hot tap water for 30 seconds. Knead packet in your hands to mix packet’s contents. Cut away a tiny corner of the packet so it will deliver a thin ribbon of icing.

Drizzle icing over your cooled brownies in a pattern that will be pleasing to you and your valentine. You don’t have to go for a “fully frosted” effect here; feel free to leave some areas exposed.

Mmm, mmm. “Love” just isn’t a big enough concept for this. Serve with two forks.

When I considered what kind of brownie I’d want to serve at a Super Bowl party, I immediately started thinking about making a beer brownie with a salty-sweet kick. Mmm, mmm. This competitive, showoff of a recipe — with just 5 ingredients — is the result.

Enjoy the Big Game on Sunday. I hope you stuff your face and have a blast. Here’s my play-by-play commentary on how to make this brownie:

INGREDIENTS

• 1 box brownie mix (for this recipe, I used Betty Crocker Triple Chunk — yum)
• 1 can (14.9 ounces) of Guinness Stout
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup (half of a stick) of butter or margarine
• 5-6 Snickers bars, or 1 bag of miniatures

These 5 little ingredients will give you a big crowd reaction at your Super Bowl party!

DIRECTIONS

Pour Guinness into a small saucepan and boil over medium heat until it thickens.

Over medium heat, bring Guinness to a boil and stir until it thickens. Chefs typically call this a "sauce reduction." I call it "saucy seduction."

It may take about 10 minutes for your Guinness to thicken up. (If you’re a coach who needs the game to go faster, mix 2 T cornstarch into 2 T of water, then add this to your boiling Guinness.) As delicious as this syrupy concoction LOOKS, it’s not very sweet; in other words, don’t lick the pan. But this syrup will add a dark, smoky undertone to your brownies. Honestly, you can hardly taste the Guinness unless you’re really looking for it!

Melt butter or margarine in the microwave, about 20-25 seconds. In a large bowl, mix together the butter, eggs, Guinness, and brownie mix. Pour batter into greased pan and bake for 25-40 minutes, depending on the pan size. While brownies are baking, cut the Snickers into bite-sized pieces.

Slice up the Snickers bars so you can see all that salty, nougatty, caramelly, peanutty goodness that's inside.

When brownies are done and the crust is still warm, use your fingers to push the Snickers pieces deep down into the crust.  Make sure each brownie will have several bites of Snickers. That’s it. Wasn’t that easy?

If you're not careful, you will get a five-yard penalty for staring.

Cool, cut, and serve. Then hope that you don’t need to call unsportsmanlike conduct on your guests as they fight to get the biggest one.

Oh, the manly delights of the Super Bowl Brownie. (Manly, yes, but the ladies will love it, too.)

Working on my Super Bowl Brownie recipe today and tomorrow. Will post a recipe soon. This photo is a hint.

According to This Site, today is National Peanut Butter Day.

I can think of 4 mouthwatering ways to celebrate:

1) Order some of those peanut-buttery Girl Scout Tagalong Cookies, which I will feature in a recipe next month, when the cookies arrive. Gotta plan ahead!

The glory of the Tagalong Cookie -- soon to be featured in an OutOfTheBoxBrownies recipe on this very site! Stay tuned.

2) Make my LunchBox Brownies, but use Peanut Butter slice-n-bake cookie dough instead of the Tollhouse Cookie dough that the recipe calls for. Any kid (or happy adult) will be tickled by these.

Behold, the key to all childhood dreams and to all adult wishes for world peace: The Lunchbox Brownie

3) Make my Elvis Brownie, which honors The King with a pan-fried peanut-butter brownie that is fit for Rock-n-Roll Royalty.

The last step in the Elvis brownie is to PAN-FRY IT in banana batter and melted butter. Uh-huh-huh!

4) Make my Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownie, which is a delicately balanced treat of perfection that you can stuff in your face with grace and style.

Having shared these 4 fabulous ideas for what to do on National Peanut Butter Day, I have just 4 more words for you:  HOORAY FOR PEANUT BUTTER!

Get ready to share this recipe because your guests’ll want to know.

Look at all of that NorthPole Goodness atop this glorious holiday treat!

INGREDIENTS

BATTER

• One box gingerbread mix
• 1 egg
• 1/2 stick of butter, melted
• 1/3 cup water
• 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened

SNOWY TOPPING

• 1 c chopped walnuts
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• Half of a 10 oz tub of marshmallow fluff
• 1/4 c confectioners sugar

DIRECTIONS

In a medium bowl, stir together the gingerbread mix, egg, melted butter, and water.

Start your batter off by adding an egg.

Butter makes everything better. Even gingerbread fluff.

Add cream cheese and stir until smooth.

The cream cheese will help give your gingerbread a more brownie-like consistency.

Spread batter into a 9×9-inch pan (nonstick or greased).

This batter is rich and fragrant.

Bake at 350 for 28-35 mins, until a toothpick comes out almost clean. While your brownies are cooling, you can make your gorgeous garnish.

In a medium bowl, mix your chopped walnuts with the cinnamon and cloves.

Mix walnuts with those two Christmassy spices.

Take your tub of marshmallow fluff and scoop out about half, or about 1.5 to 2 cups, into a microwave-safe bowl. (I’m not using a specific measured amount because fluff is hard to measure — its volume changes when handled because the air puffs out of it.) Pop it into the microwave for 20 seconds, just long enough for it to be mixable. Stir nuts into the bowl of fluff until it’s evenly mixed together.

Stir with purpose. You are creating greatness here.

Pop the mixture back into the microwave for another 20 seconds so it is smooth enough to spread. Spread over gingerbread crust. Work quickly because the fluffy mixture will cool and stiffen.

I suggest doing this step while sitting down, just in case your knees buckle.

For a sweet, snowy North Pole effect, sprinkle your nutty gingerbread landscape with confectioners sugar. I used a sifter and it created a nice, thin layer. Don’t create a completely solid layer of sugar. If you allow some of the shiny fluff to be visible, it creates a “moonlight shining on snow” effect.

On behalf of Santa, elves, polar bears, and penguins, allow me to thank you for your artfulness as you execute this final step.

So cute… so festive! Based on experience, I suggest keeping these brownies in the pan until just before serving. Once you cut the brownies and plate them, the semi-stiff fluff likes to sloooooowly creep southward. After cutting, try to serve them within 15 minutes or so. 

Happy holidays to all of my brownie friends and family!

From OutOufTheBoxBrownies.com to your family -- I wish the finest and funnest of things for you during your holiday time together! Share the brownie love!

A little chocolatey. A little…uh… noggy. All wonderful. For a change of pace this year, put something in the cookie exchange that gets people talking: “Oh, that’s a cute idea!” You won’t believe how EASY it is. Just a few boxes and a few minutes of romping in the kitchen, then into the oven and done. Look at her; isn’t she holi-dazzling?

"You got me an EggNog Swirl Brownie? It's beautiful! Thank you!"

INGREDIENTS

• 1 box Pillsbury Cheesecake Swirl brownie mix

• Chocolate (dark) pouch from Pillsbury box
• 1/3 c oil
• 2 Tbsp water
• 1 egg

• Cheesecake (light) pouch from Pillsbury box
• 2 boxes custard pudding mix (I used the 3.9 oz cook-n-serve box, but instant is fine too)
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp nutmeg (note: AllergicChild.com confirms that nutmeg is not a nut; it’s a spice)
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon, if desired
• 2-4 Tbsp milk (or use egg nog if you have it on hand)

Just a few ingredients, just a few minutes in the kitchen. You'll love this recipe!

So easy. Just wait until you see how fast you get back to wrapping gifts!

In one bowl, add the chocolate Pillsbury pouch, egg, oil, and water. Mix until smooth. Set bowl aside.

In another bowl, mix the white Pillsbury pouch with the 2 pudding boxes. Then add egg, nutmeg, cinnamon, and 2 Tbsp of milk or egg nog. Mix until smooth. Mix in another tablespoon or two of milk or nog, and mix until the eggnog batter is similar in consistency to the chocolate batter.

Pour the chocolate batter into a greased pan. I used an 11 x 7 inch pan (77 sq in) and ended up wishing for a slightly taller brownie — so, I suggest an 8 x 8 inch pan (64 sq in). One spoonful at a time, push the eggnog batter down into the chocolate batter, then artfully swirl the batters together with a knife.

Swirl the two batters together so that each brownie will have a pretty top and some of both flavors. Don't get too enthusiastic or you'll end up with "solid grey" instead of "gold and brown."

Bake according to box, but add a few minutes to the baking time since the pudding mix adds to the amount of batter. When a toothpick in the center comes out almost clean, remove from oven. Cool and serve.

Swirly, pretty, chewy, Christmassy. Your guests will love this treat!

OPTIONAL BUT AWESOME: Make a glitzy little glaze to pour over top. Mix together 1 cup confectioners sugar, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, a pinch of cinnamon, and slowly add small amounts of either bourbon or rum or brandy until it makes a drizzly glaze. Enjoy!!!!

I think this would be awesome with vanilla ice cream and butterscotch topping. Just sayin’.