Two-Bite Brownies

Festive for Canada Day and 4th of July celebrations - any summer party, really - small chocolate brownies iced, sprinkled with colored sugar, then placed onto skewers in a watermelon. Very fun! And how about a pumpkin for Halloween, with orange sprinkles, of course?!

Did I mention that these brownie bites add up to only one Weight Watchers point, even with icing and nuts? Now that's a quick treat worth a celebration all its own, no watermelon required.

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BATCH ONE The first time I made Two-Bite Brownies, my notes read, “VG, but use VB”. Huh? That would be code for Very Good but next time, use my long-time favorite recipe for Vanilla Brownies and bake in a mini muffin pan.

Ha. That first batch disappeared so fast I considered a name change, something like Two-Minute Brownies or maybe Get-One-While-You-Can-But-You’d-Better-Move-Fast Brownies.

BATCHES TWO & THREE The second and third times I made Two-Bite Brownies, I did indeed use that recipe for Vanilla Brownies – you see, I wanted to be able to report that any ol’ brownie recipe, << your >> own favorite brownie recipe, say, would work just fine. But the brownie texture that works so well in a square, well, it just doesn’t work in a mini brownie. And besides, my Vanilla Brownie recipe makes something like 32 Two-Bite Brownies which is a real pain when the mini muffin pan has room for just 24.

BATCH FOUR with a LITTLE CANADA DAY & FOURTH OF JULY FUN So the fourth time I made Two-Bite Brownies, I went back to the original recipe. Taste-wise, these little brownie bites need no adornment, they're full of chocolate goodness all on their own.

But for a party, I added a creamy-chocolate Brownie Icing, sprinkled the tops with patriotic Red, White and Blue sugar (or for Canadians, just Red and White) stuck the brownies onto skewers, then stuck the skewers into half a watermelon.

Was all this fuss necessary? Nope, all by themselves, the brownies are already VG, verging on VVG. But the kids’ faces sure did light up!

BROWNIE ICING

Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Time to table: 10 minutes
Makes enough for 24 Two-Bite Brownies

• 2 tablespoons salted butter
• 2 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tablespoon corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• Milk (start with a teaspoon)

In a mixing bowl, mix butter, cocoa, corn syrup and vanilla until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Add just enough milk to thin to the desired consistency.

TWO-BITE BROWNIES

Hands-on time: 20 minutes
Time to table: 1 hour
Makes 24

• 1/4 cup butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon instant espresso or instant coffee dissolved in 1 teaspoon water
• 1 cup flour, fluffed to aerate before measuring
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt (omit if using salted butter)
• 1/4 cup toasted pecans or walnuts, optional

BROWNIE ICING (see left), optional

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, mix until well combined. Add the coffee liquid and vanilla, mix until well combined. In a small bowl, stir together the remaining ingredients until combined.

Spray a mini muffin tray with baking spray. With two small spoons (one to scoop, one to scrape), fill the cups with brownie batter, smoothing the tops a bit when through. Bake for just 12 to 15 minutes until a bit puffy but still soft to the touch. Let cool for 10 minutes. With a small knife, gently work the brownies out of the pan.

Brownies may be made the day before but should be iced and sprinkled with colored sugar only a couple of hours before serving. Gently insert the blunt end of a skewer into the brownie, then insert the pointed end of a skewer an inch or more into a watermelon half.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE Brownies only, with/without nuts, Per Brownie: 69/61Cal; 3/2g Tot Fat; 2/1g Sat Fat; 22mg Cholesterol; 49mg Sodium; 10g Carb; 1g Fiber; 8g Sugar; 1g Protein; Weight Watchers 1 point
NUTRITION ESTIMATE Brownies with icing, with/without nuts, Per Brownie: 88/71Cal; 4/2g Tot Fat; 2/1g Sat Fat; 25/22mg Cholesterol; 56/49mg Sodium; 13/12g Carb; 1g Fiber; 11g Sugar; 1g Protein; Weight Watchers 1 point

I'm grateful to two of my favorite food blogs for inspiring this fun treat. The brownie recipe is adapted from Dinner with Julie and the Brownie Icing and watermelon idea from Whisk.

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Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. In 2009, Kitchen Parade celebrates its 50th anniversary with a special collection of my mother's recipes.

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Brownie Icing

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