Sweet Treats for Your Valentine

I made these little treats for my future sister-in-laws bridal shower and they were such a hit I'm now going to make them for several parties this month as well as their open house. So in total I'll be making over 1000 of these babies in the next couple weeks. I have lots of helpers though. The picture may be deceving. They are on a dessert plate. The hearts are just a little bigger than a quarter and they are not chocolates but brownie bites. Brownies are probably my favorite thing in the world to eat and these little concoctions cost about $1.50 for 50 so if you need an inexpensive treat that will impress here it is. It takes about 2 hours from start to finish to make 50 or 300. The majority of the time is spent cooking and cooling. The great thing about them is you can freeze them and let them thaw for about an hour before you want to serve or throw them in the lunch bag and they'll be ready to eat at lunch time. I love them because they are so cheap. At the shower everyone kept asking me how I made them and what they were. Being a home economist, you can have a reputation so I didn't want to give away my secret (box mix) but I figured beind a smart home economist is knowing when to use homemade and when to use convenience. You could never make these for as cheap as a mix with the cost of cocoa and butter. I use the Pillsbury brownie mix that I can get at Walmart for $.88 a box. In true Pioneer Woman style, here are the step by step instructions.

Being in Utah, I prepare them the way the package says for high altitude.

Then line a 9X13 pan with foil and smooth it out as best you can and spray with cooking spray. Pour in brownie mix and bake according to instructions.

Let brownies cool on a cooling rack but if you are in a hurry just put them outside in the snow or ice as I did (we never got around to shoveling our driveway after the last snow storm so we now just have a huge sheet of ice. URGH. Hopefully the cooling brownies will help. Once cool place in the freezer for 20-30 minutes until hard but not completely frozen (if you want to defrost your freezer or thaw some food you can always place brownies in the freezer straight out of the oven but it is not recommended)

I love making desserts miniature for three reasons:

1. They are so stinking cute.
2. You can make a whole lot

3. In today's world, everyone is watching what they eat so anyone can eat one of these (if you're able to eat only one) and not feel guilty or overindulgent

I have tons of these mini cookie cutters for all the holidays. You can do so many things with them. I usually get them at JoAnn's using a 40% off coupon, you get 6 for $2.50. I found this particular set also at Smith's. They probably have them anywhere candy making supplies are.

You'll need to decide what to dip them in. Almond bark is the cheapest alternative and what I use for just black and white. $1.92 for 24 ounces at Walmart. I use 4 oz. for one box of brownies. You could also use chocolate chips, candy bars, candy melts. Candy melts are fun for adding color. FYI: you cannot add food coloring to white almond bark. I learned the hard way. Take my word for it. You can buy special food coloring just for candy making but cheaper to buy candy melts. A couple times a year JoAnn's has them on sale for $1.50 a bag and I stock up. Also Sheperd's carries all kinds of colors. You don't need a lot of chocolate. I will melt one square (2 oz.) of almond bark at a time. I like to add a little shortening to it (1/4-1/2 t) which helps thin it out and makes it smoother so it looks more like a glaze. I find this really helps the candy melts. Add a little and heat it up and if it's still too thick add a little more. Never use butter, only shortening.

Take brownies out of freezer and with foil lift out of the pan.

Now just start cutting out your shapes. If they are crumbly or you are not getting a clean cut just stick them back in the freezer for a couple more minutes. These little metal cookie cutters can kill your hands so find something to push it down with. This little pig is from our playdoh set. A cup would work too.

The brownie will often come up with the cutter so just push it through.

Don't worry, there are plenty of scraps for the little rascals who took too long of a morning nap so they wouldn't take an afternoon nap and ruined your plans of working in peace and quiet.

Here they are all cut out. I got 50+ from the pan, minus the 10 I ate and the scraps I had to give Mikey to keep him from screaming his head off.

I have these little bowls called custard cups, perfect for this. You want something small so you don't end up using more chocolate than you need. You are going to dip the bottom of the brownie, the one that was against the foil because it is the smooth side. The top is all crinkly and crumbly, not good dipping material. I just use my fingers and dip the top about 1/8" in so just the top is coverd. Let excess drip and then place on waxed paper. I like to keep the brownies somewhat frozen so they keep their shape so if they begin to get too soft just pop them back in the freezer. When they are cold it also helps the chocolate to set quickly.

I'm not real good at the decoration part, this is were Neil comes in and he goes to town. He's not here so I just opt for squiggles. You can use whatever chocolate is left in your bowls. Heat it up a couple seconds to get it smooth again and place in ziploc bag and twist, then cut a very small hole in the end and start piping away.

The finished product. I hope someone uses this idea. I was amazed at the shower how people raved over them. I even had a lady call today for instructions on how to make them and that's what make me decide to post about them. I must say I am tickled because I usually take my ideas from the internet or someone else but this one was totally my own, an Amy original. I want to try it with turtle brownies or something more gourmet. I don't consider myself very creative and often have grand ideas which never turn out.

I think these are great because they are tasty, inexpensive and so versatile. At Christmastime how about making little Christmas trees dipped in green candy melts with sprinkles or orange pumpkins for Halloween or green clovers for St. Patrick's Day. The list goes on and on. You can use any size cookie cutter. You can make a cookie size sheet with two boxes of brownies. I get about 120 minis out of that size.

You can also do this with a cake and make cake bites. For one cake mix, you'd separate it into 2 9X13 since it rises so much.