Sunday, September 13, 2009

Marshmallows....meh



Marshmallow Crunch Brownie Bars - September 12, 2009

This recipe is from the Buttercup Bake Shop, one of my favorite bakeries in Manhattan. They make the BEST red velvet cake. Anyway, this is a brownie layer on the bottom, a marshmallow layer in the middle and the top is peanut butter chocolate with rice crispies. You bake the brownie layer first, cover the top with mini marshmallows and let them melt for a few minutes in the oven, then pour the melted peanut butter chocolate rice krispie layer over it and let it set in the fridge before cutting. I'm not a fan of marshmallows though and the only time I eat them is in rice krispie treats. I don't even like them in s'mores (although I'll eat the graham cracker and chocolate, lol). So why did I make this recipe? Well, sometimes you have to try new things - you never know what you'll end up liking. I haven't tried this one yet so I don't know how they taste. I'm bringing them to a friend's bbq tomorrow before we go watch the Giants game. Hopefully someone will like a chocolate peanut butter marshmallow rice krispie combo.

September 13, 2009 update - I tried a piece of this today. Meh. The bottom and top layers were good but I'm just not a marshmallow fan. Marshmallow may be okay when it's warm and gooey but when it's not warm, it just has the texture of rubber to me. So it was like eating white rubber between two chocolate layers. But that could be just me. Other people who tried it today seemed to like it (some had more than 1 piece and my friend Bryan took the leftovers home - hopefully enough made it to his wife Cheryl). Marshmallow's just not my thing. On the other hand, I liked the rice krispie top with the melted chocolate and peanut butter and that gives me an idea of making something like that for other brownie recipes.

Brownie
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
2/3 cup (1 1/3 sticks) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, divided
¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Topping
1 package (10 ½ ounces) mini marshmallows
1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 ½ cups crispy rice cereal

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F.
2. Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking pan.
3. In a medium saucepan, melt the chocolate, butter and ¾ cup of the chocolate chips on medium heat. Stir occasionally while melting. Set aside and cool for 5 minutes.
4. In a medium bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
5. In a large bowl, place the eggs and whisk thoroughly. Add in the sugar and vanilla. Stir the melted ingredients into the egg mixture, mixing well. Stir in the sifted dry ingredients and mix well.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and even with a spatula. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the pans comes out with moist crumbs.
7. Remove the brownies from the oven and immediately sprinkle the marshmallows over them. Return the pan to the oven for 3 more minutes.
8. While the brownies are baking, place the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter in a medium saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until melted. Remove from heat, add the cereal and mix well. Allow this to cool for 3 minutes or so. Spread the mixture evenly over the marshmallow layer. Refrigerate until chilled before cutting.

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