Recipe Monday - Rocky Road Brownies

You have a picnic or party to go to in an hour, and you've just remembered you're supposed to bring a dessert. The kitchen goes into crisis mode as you scramble to find something -- anything -- that means you don't have to bring a pre-made, I-just-stopped-at-the-grocery-store food item. Time is ticking. It seems as if you're done for.

Wait, not quite yet. There's a box of brownie mix in the back cupboard there. But everyone's going to bring brownies. They're the easiest. Plus, they take 45 minutes to prepare and bake, even from a mix.

Not anymore they don't. The other day, I accidentally found a way to make brownies in 15 minutes total, and not only that, to snazz them up so that they stand out in the sea of other brownies that will no doubt be crowding the table.

Behold.

The rocky road brownie.

Here's how to do it.

Use any brownie mix you have available, or make your own (I found some great recipes online I'd like to try someday when I have more than a few minutes). I used Pillsbury family-size fudgey brownies. Make it according to the instructions on the box.

Family size is a joke, though. The instructions say bake 28-30 minutes in a 9x13 inch tin. There isn't enough mix for that. I knew as soon as I spread the gooey batter less than a half-inch thick across the bottom of the pan that 28 minutes would burn the heck out of it.

After I tossed the batter in the oven, I spent a few minutes making a rocky-road mix for the top. Half a cup of chocolate chips, a half cup of cashews (or any nut you desire, or no nuts), and two cups of marshmallows. Mix them up well so you just have to pour the whole mess on the brownies when you're ready.

I had planned on taking the brownies out half-done, and cooking the toppings for another 10-15 minutes, but when I took those brownies out after the first 15 minutes...they were done.

I poured the mix on top of them anyway, switched the oven off, and put the dessert back into the warm oven for a few minutes while I got the family ready to go out.

The result was great. Gooey marshmallows with a barely-toasted top, crunchy nuts and chocolate chips that were soft but had kept their shape. The thinness of the brownies worked out well for this recipe, making the brownie-to-topping ratio accidentally perfect. (Do you like my dark, half-blurry pictures? I told you, I was in a rush. Anyway, you get the idea.)

I'll be making these again for sure.


___

If you like this blog, please consider voting for me here! And if you really love me...Babble is the most important ranking to me, and I'd love you forever.  xxoo

Tales of an Unlikely Mother is on Babble.com. We're number 15, just scroll down and click on the thumbs up!