to the heart of the mallow

I have been away again but this time it was in the name of family, fun and beer. Yeah, sorry about that but we like to drag birthdays out around here. I was finally celebrating Torren's 2-6 by taking him to the Empire BrewFest in Syracuse.  I'll spare you the beer-sniffing details and hoppy diatribes but it was a lot of fun and the five-hour festival went by too fast.  I grew up in the 'burbs out there and most of my family remains in the area so we had some major fam time with Grandmama Sue, Aunts Mar and Potty, my brother Noonie and cousins Anniepants and little Lillie Bean.  The latter of which firmly introduced us to the latest toy trends: Zhu-Zhu Pets and Silly Bandz. The Bandz are huge here in Mass as well but I was hoping they would die out before the school year commenced.  Doesn't look like their intrigue is waning.

We capped off the weekend with a trip to Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown.  Who knew that "beautiful" and "brewery" went together?  It helps when there are acres of open farmland and an amazing architectural homage to Belgian brewing farmhouses. So glad we made the trek. Torren's love for beer rivals mine for baking and we each have been warming up to the other's obsession for a while. I stock our kitchen with crazy must-have appliances and baking pans while forcing him to taste-test my goods as and he fills the corners with a corny keg fridge, car-boys and home brew supplies while having me cap bottles for us to distribute the love.

Not really an excuse but I just haven't been baking up a storm or idling in front of the laptop because both are radiating some major heat and this heatwave isn't going anywhere.  We're ending this marshmallow-on-parade with a high note. I have made these several times with varying ingredients and you cannot go wrong.  Despite the cupcake shape, these are definitely brownies, if perhaps a bit on the thick, cakey side of the brownie spectrum.  I have used other brownie recipes to make these if I wanted to "lighten up" a little bit.  There was not an obvious difference so feel free to play.  My usual go-to are thick and fudgy with no visible crumb. These have a slight crumb but are very rich nonetheless and very s'more-sational.

Heart of Darkness Brownies

adapted from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey
Yield: 24
This is another recipe that can benefit from creativity.  Switch up the nuts: peanuts, macadamia, walnuts.  Change up the candy bars: peanut butter cups, toffee bars, Kit-Kats.  Change out the chocolate chips: white chocolate, butterscotch, peanut butter.  Whatever you come up with can be easily substituted.  In this case, I left the caramel off and added peanuts  instead of almonds to continue the s'mores run and avoid a sticky mess on a hot day.

INGREDIENTS
brownie cups
1 1/2 C (3 sticks) unsalted butter (yes, I have used half light butter here in the past without much of a difference so that is up to you)
6 oz unsweetened chocolate
2 C granulated sugar
1 C firmly packed light brown sugar
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 T pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 C all purpose flour
1/2 t salt
1 C very coarsely chopped raw almonds or pecans, toasted
1 C semisweet/bittersweet chocolate chips
5 full-size (2.07 ounces each) Snickers Candy Bars, cut into small chunks
3 C mini marshmallows

caramel drizzle
6 oz (about 25) unwrapped caramel candies
2 T heavy cream
1 t pure vanilla extract
pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Spray two standard 12-cup muffin tins with nonstick cooking spray, or line them with cupcake liners (way less mess).

brownie cups
1. Melt the butter and unsweetened chocolate together in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and stir until smooth.
2. Pour the chocolate mixture into a bowl and stir in the sugars, eggs and vanilla.
3. Sift the flour and salt into the chocolate mixture and stir just until combined.
4. Stir in the cooled chopped nuts, chocolate chips, and chunks of candy bar.
5. Fill each cupcake cup halfway with batter. Bake until the surface of the brownies has a glossy, crackled surface, about 20 minutes.
6. Remove the brownies from the oven and top each one with 1/4 cup of the mini marshmallows. Return the brownies to the oven and cook until the marshmallows start the melt and puff up a bit, but not browned too much, about 2 minutes.
7. Transfer to a wire rack to cool just enough to handle, then remove from the cupcake cups, running a knife around the edge of each brownie to loosen it from the cup (this is why the liners are a good idea, trust me.  You can always take them off if you are concerned about aesthetics). Let cool completely on the wire rack.

caramel drizzle
1. While the brownies are cooling, make the caramel drizzle. Combine the caramels, cream, vanilla, and salt in a microwave-safe bowl (or melt in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan). Microwave, uncovered, on high for 1 minute. Remove from the microwave and stir until smooth. If the caramels are not completely melted, continue heating in 30-second increments, stirring until smooth.
2. Drizzle the brownies with melted caramel and let cool completely for the caramel to harden. Do not chill. Serve immediately or store for up to 3 days in a covered container

Nutrition: 456cal, 25g fat, 123mg sod, 56g carb, 44g sugar, 2g fiber, 6g protein