I've said this enough times lately but now that the actual blessed day is here - HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! Whether you're with your honey or celebrating with your closest friends, it's the holiday for spreading the luuurrrrvvve!
I hope you all have something fun to do today - even if it's just tweeting a cute GIF and wishing the world a Happy Valentine's Day. I have brought valentines in to work for my co-workers for YEARS (probably ever since I started in offices) and it's always so much fun. I go buy a pack meant for kids to bring to school and leave one at everyone's desk. It's so silly but it's a perfect way to give everyone a little something.
Speaking of a little something...these BROWNIES.
I stumbled upon these on Pinterest recently and decided to share them for Valentine's Day. It's a twist on the classic chocolate covered strawberry. All you need is some champagne to sip between luscious bites of these fudgy bad boys and you're in business!
There's something SO luxurious about having a homemade brownie. The melted chocolate and butter smells SO GOOD as you mix it together, the velvety texture it takes on once it cools and is combined with the eggs, sugar, and other ingredients is just divine. It really is such a different experience - one I love!
Now that I have made them from scratch and had my alone time with the melted chocolate amazingness (which you should do as well - because the brownie is just SO rich and SO chocolatey), I bet it'd be fun to do this with brownies made from a box too! Because some of us just don't have time for scratch!
One thing I will say - this recipe calls for an 8x8 pan, resulting in thick square brownies. While perfect in every way, they can be a bit cumbersome to bite into without losing all the toppings. Next time I make them, I think I'll use a 9x13 and make a flatter brownie so it's easy to eat.
Not that a challenge like that will stop me! I'll wear the chocolate on my lips with pride!
For the brownies:
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into quarters
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
For the topping:
- 1 cup fresh strawberries, diced
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon shortening
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Spray an 8 inch baking pan and set aside.
- Melt chocolate and butter together (microwave or double boiler will work).
- Set chocolate and butter mixture aside to cool.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt until combined.
- Whisk the chocolate and butter mixture into the egg mixture.
- Slowly add the flour until everything is combined.
- Pour mixture into the prepared pan, spreading until even.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until tester comes out with just a few sticky crumbs attached.
- Cool brownies completely.
- When brownies have cooled, spread the diced strawberries over the top in an even layer.
Make your topping:
- Melt the chocolate chips and shortening together and pour evenly over the strawberries.
- Refrigerate brownies for at least 60 minutes to set.
