LADDitude: Mocha Brownies

The other evening, my MOPS group had a MOPS and POPS night. For those of you who know me well, you know I am a homebody who isn't good at being social so it's hard sometimes to convince myself to go to events like these. I know I ~~should~~ need to go though and I usually do have fun. So when Alexa was feeling better and I heard a nurse was available for Parker I really didn't have an excuse. Then I had the task of convincing Paul WE should go because he's just as bad at those sorts of things as I am. I got him to agree.

The next problem was that I had to make something to bring (it was a soup and dessert challenge). Since, we decided last minute, I tried to find a recipe where I had most of the ingredients. My mom had given me a cookbook for Christmas entitled "The Pioneer Woman Cooks" by Ree Drummond. She also has a blog at http://thepioneerwoman.com and it's one of my new obsessions. I found that most of her recipes call for ingredients that I usually have on hand which is nice for a change.

Anyway, I decided on "Mocha Brownies". I had everything except the coffee because neither Paul or I are coffee drinkers (I know, go ahead and gasp). So....Paul brought me home some McDonalds brewed coffee on his way home for lunch and I had everything I needed. To my surprise, they turned out pretty good (although I didn't win the dessert challenge) and I thought I'd share. Please ignore the fact that this recipe calls for 4 sticks of butter.

Ingredients

For Brownies:

Four 1-ounce squares unsweetened chocolate
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
11/4 cups all-purpose flour

For Mae's Mocha Icing:

1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, softened
5 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 to 3/4 cup brewed coffee, cooled to room temperature

Cooking Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Spray an 8 inch square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray (NOTE: I used a 9X13 pan instead and it worked just fine and made more that way).

To make the brownie batter, place the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30-second increments, being careful not to let it burn. Set it aside to cool slightly. In a medium mixing bowl, cream, the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs. With the mixer on low speed, drizzle in the melted chocolate. Add the vanilla extract and mix. Add the flour to the bowl and mix just until combined; do not over mix.Pour the batter into the baking pan. Spread it to even out the surface. Bake at 325°F for 45 to 50 minutes, until the center is no longer soft. Set the brownies aside to cool completely before icing.

To make the icing, in a large mixing bowl, combine the butter, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and vanilla. Mix until slightly combined, then add 1/2 cup of the coffee. Whip until the icing is the desired consistency. If the icing is overly thick, add 1/4 cup more coffee. It should be very light and fluffy. Ice the cooled brownies, spreading the icing on thick. Refrigerate until the icing is firm, then slice the brownies into squares.