Chocolate Lava BROWNIES

What could be better than a warm, soft molten lava cake? A warm molten lava BROWNIE! I had a couple leftover truffle centers from the lava cake last month, and I needed to bake brownies for my brownie mosaic cheesecake tomorrow. The brownie recipe makes way more than necessary for the cheesecake, so I figured I'd use some of the batter and the truffle centers for a ridiculously rich and decadent dessert tonight. Mix up the batter, pour into the ramekins, pop in a truffle center, and pop in the oven. I ended up baking the ramekins about 40-45 minutes before inverting them on a plate and dusting with powdered sugar. I poured the remainder of the brownie batter into an 8 by 8 inch pan and baked as per the recipe below.

The verdict? Amazingly good, but I used 7 oz ramekins, and neither Tim or I could finish our brownie. And we both agreed that ice cream would go wonderfully with the brownie. One 7 oz ramekin + 1 scoop ice cream = more than enough for two people.

Brownies
Adapted by smitten kitchen

4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
¾ cup butter
1 ¾ cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
½ tsp. salt
1 cup flour

Directions:
To make the brownies, preheat the oven to 350°. Line a 9×13” baking pan with foil, leaving the ends of the foil overhanging the sides of the pan. Grease the foil and set aside.
Microwave chocolate and butter in a large microwave-safe bowl on high for 30-second intervals, stirring in between, until the butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Add salt and flour; mix well. Spread into prepared pan.

Christmas goodies!

It's the villain all dogs love to hate, Michael Vick. On a stick. One of our local dog bakeries used to make these all the time, and my soon-to-be sister-in-law ordered a bunch for the dogs for Christmas. What does one do with Michael Vick on a stick? Ask the pups.













The pups also got new collars. I picked out a cute pink martini collar for Coral from Bridget's TeenyTinyCollar's Etsy shop, but I couldn't figure out which one I liked for Duke. Tim decided to make the decision for me, and chose to get a UT collar for Duke. I was very concerned at first, because I didn't think a burnt orange collar would be very becoming on my orange/black dog. Fortunately, he picked out a nice brown leather one instead. I'm having a hard time getting used to it, because it does blend in with Duke's coat, but I'm still just happy it's not burnt orange.






























One of my presents was the BakersEdge brownie pan. I LOVE the corner pieces on brownies. In fact, anytime I bake them, I eat the four corners, and then send the rest to work with the hubby. So he got me this pan for Christmas. A pan with two edges on every piece! And two bonus brownies with THREE edges! Of course, my happiness was met with groans across the room, because this means I will be hoarding all my brownies from now on, instead of sending them to work with Tim.