Brownie Bites with Strawberry Frosting

If the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach… well, I think these will do the trick! A soft, cake like brownie is topped with flavorful strawberry buttercream frosting. Top with edible glitter and a candy heart, for a cute Valentine’s Day dessert.

Last year my mom and I catered a Valentine’s Day dessert party, and we came up with these pint sized treats. To me, nothing says Valentines Day more than chocolate and strawberries and these brownie bites are the perfect balance of both.

Ingredients:

For the Brownies (This is the Hershey Chocolate brownie recipe)

1/2 cup flour

1/3 cup cocoa

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 large eggs

For Frosting

1/2 cup chopped strawberries

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar, sifted

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp strawberry jam

1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted, divided

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a mini muffin tin with a generous amount of cooking spray. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Melt butter in a 10 - 12 cup saucepan over moderate heat. Stir in sugar and vanilla, and add eggs one at a time. Stir in dry ingredients, and stir in nuts. Spread smoothly in prepared pan. Bake 10 -13 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center just barely comes out clean.
2. Cool in pan 15 minutes. Cover with rack and turn pan over. Remove Let stand until cool. While cooling start the frosting.
3. For the frosting, place chopped strawberries in a blender and puree until smooth.
4. Pour strawberry puree into a saucepan and cook over medium/high heat. Bring to a boil and stir often until puree is reduced by half. This process should take about 15 minutes. Once reduced, remove from heat and allow to cool.
5. Beat butter with an electric mixer on high in a bowl until it is light and fluffy. Slowly add one cup of powdered sugar and blend until combined.
6. Beat the strawberry jam and vanilla into butter/sugar mixture until blended. Slowly mix in the strawberry puree until blended. Add the rest of the powdered sugar and blend until frosting is at desired consistency. Pipe on brownies and top with edible glitter or sprinkles,  and a candy heart.