4 Brownies, 4 Days: Day #1

As you may or may not know, my little sister is expecting a baby in just over a week.  Our good friends threw her a baby shower recently, and they asked me to make the desserts.  Jill's favorite dessert is brownies, so I made brownies...4 different kinds of brownies, actually.  I went all out.

Here we are in front of the dessert table.  Isn't she the cutest pregnant lady ever?! 

And here is the adorable dessert table, complete with "So Sweet" banner.

I know I have not been very good at posting recipes lately, so I am going to try my hardest to post these four brownie recipes in four days.  Think I can do it?  No?  Oh, well...ok.  We'll see.

I'm going to start with the coffee cream brownies.  They were my favorite.  Then again, anything with the word coffee in it is my favorite.  I'm obsessed with coffee; I'm not addicted to it.  I could totally go a day without coffee.  I just don't want to. 

Coffee Cream Brownies

Ingredients:

Brownies -

1/2 cup butter, cubed

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Coffee Cream Filling -

1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream

1 teaspoon instant coffee granules

2 tablespoons butter, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

Chocolate Ganache Glaze -

1 cup (6 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter an 8" x 8" metal baking pan.  Line pan with parchment paper for easy brownie removal.  Butter the parchment paper.

2.  Melt butter and chocolate.  Stir until smooth, and set aside to cool.

3.  In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract.  Stir in the chocolate mixture.  Add the flour and baking soda.  Stir just until combined.

4.  Spread batter in prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool brownies.

5.  In a small bowl, stir the coffee granules into the cream until dissolved.  

6.  In a stand mixer, cream the butter and powdered sugar until fluffy.  Beat in coffee mixture.  Add a little extra whipping cream if necessary to achieve a spreadable texture.  Spread over brownies.

7.  Eat the leftover coffee cream filling from the bowl.

8.  In a small saucepan, combine chocolate and whipping cream over low heat. Stir until chocolate is melted and mixture has thickened.  Cool slightly before spreading over the coffee cream filling.  Let chocolate ganache set (in refrigerator, if necessary) before slicing brownies.  

Source:  Sweet Pea's Kitchen