Adorable. Take it to work; chat with it until you need a snack. Then become one with your Bite-Sized Peanut Butter Crunch Brownie.
For the recipe, follow the directions for Girl Scout Tagalong Brownie Pie, except use a mini-muffin pan to bake your brownies.
Mini-muffin pans can do double-duty as mini-brownie pans!
Do I really need to say anything more than: Tagalong Brownie Pie? This recipe features Girl Scout Tagalong cookies, a ridiculously gooey peanut-butter-caramel layer, and toasted walnuts. And it’s one of my easiest recipes! PS – When Girl Scout Cookies are out of season, you can substitute another (preferably chocolate-coated) peanut butter cookie…like Little Debbie Nutty Bars or even Nabisco Nutter Butter cookies.
INGREDIENTS
With ingredients like this, how can you go astray?
So wonderful, but there are only 15 in a package. And, for me, that means 5 for Monday morning, 5 for Monday lunch, and 5 for Monday dinner. Woeful Tuesday. With this recipe, you can have enough to serve all week!
If Girl Scout Cookie season is over and you can't get Tagalongs, here are two fabulous peanut butter cookie alternatives! Little Debbie Peanut Butter Crunch Bars or Little Debbie Nutty Bars.
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 F. Toast your walnuts on a cookie sheet for about 5-6 minutes, until they’re slightly golden brown. Set aside to cool.
Make brownie mix with eggs, oil, and water, according to the directions on the box. I like to use the “extra egg” recipe, which is sometimes in fine print next to the “regular” recipe. That extra egg adds a little more loft and cakiness to the brownie. But that’s just my preference; you should build your own brownie world the way you like it. Pour brownie batter into two (2) well greased 9-inch pie pans.
This recipe makes two 9-inch brownie pies. One for me, one for you.
Since you’re using 2 pans, your baking time will be much shorter than the box instructs. (My box mix suggested a baking time of 35-40 minutes, but my brownie pies only needed 22-24 minutes to bake.) When a center-placed toothpick comes out nearly clean, that means your pies are done.
Yum. This is a happy moment.
When pies have cooled, put about 1/2 cup of peanut-butter-caramel dip on the surface of each pie. Spread it evenly. I intentionally avoided covering the outermost half-inch of brownie, the part where a pie would normally have a “crimp” in the crust. I thought it looked cute that way, plus it helped make serving a little easier.
Spread the love.
Using a walnut as a “stand,” prop up your cookies. This will make it easier and cleaner for your guests to grab those cookies and eat them with their fingers.
Who knew you could use a walnut as a cookie stand? (I did.)
Since there are 15 cookies in a Tagalong box, I put 8 cookies on one pie and 7 on the other. Add 1/2 cup of your toasted walnuts to each pie. I chopped my walnuts into large pieces.
This Tagalong Brownie Pie recipe would make any Girl Scout proud, and I’m sure your troop will love ‘em!
Here's another supah-delish take on this recipe. Use a mini-cupcake pan to make tiny brownies, "frost" with the peanut butter caramel, top with nuts, and garnish with a piece of peanut butter cookie. Finger-sized perfection!
Seriously. How cute is that? It's the best thing to have at work and just POP in your mouth. YUM!
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
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:
(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:
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
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 -
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 -
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.
Kahlua is a coffee liqueur. Kahlua is a vodka-based spirit. Kahlua is thick and sweet and dark. Kahlua is, as the commercial says, DELICIOSO. And Kahlua is friends forever with brownies.
I have a simple box-brownie recipe to help you celebrate this lovely friendship. I promise to get you out of the kitchen FAST, giving you more time with your delicioso dessert. This 3-layered recipe of brownie + pudding + mousse is called The Kahlua Mousse Brownie and you can find it right here: http://outoftheboxbrownies.com/2011/11/14/frozen-kahlua-mousse-brownies/
The Kahlua Mousse Brownie looks so pretty IN THE PAN. It made me sad to think there's one less brownie left to eat. Then I remembered the one I had on the plate. And I ate it with great joy.
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
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.)
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!
I love to get returned plasticware — especially when a note is attached. I can’t help thinking of all the love transferred by that little container. :-)
