Fun and festive, these brownie bites decorated to look like leprechaun hats will put you in the St. Patrick’s Day spirit!
To save time, swap out the homemade brownies with a boxed brownie mix – just be sure to make them more cakey than fudgy.
Yield:
24For the Brownies
Ingredients
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon corn syrup
2/3 cup cocoa
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease or line with paper baking cups a 24-cup mini-muffin pan.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add in the corn syrup, cocoa, eggs, and vanilla. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula as necessary.
Fill muffin cups until nearly full with batter. The bit of overflow when its baked will be the brim of the hat.
Bake for 18-21 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean – do not overbake!
Allow the brownie bites to cool for 10 minutes, then gently remove (if you did not use baking cups) by lightly twisting the brownie in the pan until it comes free. You may need to loosen the sides with a toothpick if it sticks.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before proceeding with the hats.
For the Hats
Ingredients
1 bag green candy melts
Black licorice
Yellow gumdrops or similar shaped candy, plus yellow sprinkles
Instructions
Line a baking sheet with parchment.
Place a handful of the candy melts in a microwave-safe bowl and heat according to the package instructions until smooth and melted.
Holding onto the “brim” of the brownie hat (what would have been the top in the pan), dip the brownie into the melted candy. Allow the excess to drip back into the bowl, then place the brownie on the parchment to dry. Repeat with remaining “hats,” warming up the candy melts as needed.
Cut the licorice into strips and flatten with a rolling pin. Cut the yellow gum drops (a sharp, wet knife works best) into circles. Wrap the licorice around the “brim” of one hat, and secure with the sticky side of a gumdrop circle. Press the remaining, exposed sticky side into the yellow sprinkles.
