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Baseball Brownie Cups!

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Dense chocolate brownie cups topped with fudge and a dome of creamy peppermint topping! These baseball brownies are a perfect idea for Father’s Day!

Our day to celebrate dad is almost here! I happen to have a pretty incredible dad. By the time this posts he will be in Canada fishing with my uncles and cousins (does Father’s Day get better than that??) I’ve celebrated all of his various hobbies over the years…fishing, golfing, football (watching), setting off epic firework shows… but I hadn’t made anything baseball. Until now. Let me introduce to you, the YUMMIEST baseballs you will ever meet!

Seriously- they are almost too cute to eat!!

Now, these look difficult to make. Let me assure you that they are not- until you pipe those little laces on top. Then, if you have shaky hands like me, these are AGONY. Just being honest. 🙂 If you have a steady hand (or have a friend to help) you will zip through that piping like nothing though! Promise.

Here is how we made these (printable recipe here):

Ingredients: (makes 24 baseball brownies)

Baseballs: (make these 1st)- you will need a little chocolate bomb mold to make these:

  • 5 cups powdered sugar
  • 8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) melted butter
  • 2 teaspoons peppermint extract
  • Food color in white
  • One bag of Wilton’s Candy melts in white
  • About 1/2 cup of Wilton’s Candy melts in red.

Brownies: 

  • 1cup butter
  • 2 cup sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup cocoa
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup milk

Chocolate Glaze:

  • 6oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 6 tablespoons butter (do not substitute margarine here!)
  • Green jimmies for grass!

DIRECTIONS:

Mint Baseballs:

  • Melt white candy melts in microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between until smooth.
  • Use a pastry brush to brush melts into a chocolate bomb mold and freeze for a couple minutes until hard.
  • Make mint filling  by adding melted butter to sugar and extract.
  • Mix well, using water to bring it to a thick but spreadable consistency.
  • Add white food coloring to make it pure white (the butter gives it a slightly yellow color)
  • Place filling into a large zip-top bag and seal tightly.
  • Cut a corner off bag and pipe mint filling into each white shell- filling them about 3/4 full.
  • Use a knife to spread mint filling to edges. It will dip in at the center just a bit- and you want this. If it is full all the way across it doesn’t settle on the curved top of the brownie well (see the gap along the bottom in the below photo).
  • Refreeze these for a few minutes before gently popping them out and setting them on a plate. 
  • Repeat this process until you have 24 mint bombs ready.

  

  

Brownies:

  • Preheat oven to 350F.
  • Cream butter and sugar together. 
  • Beat in eggs, cocoa, vanilla and salt.
  • Add flour and milk (alternating them and mixing well in between)
  • Spoon evenly into 24 cupcake liners in a cupcake tin.
  • Bake at 350F degrees for 15-18 minutes (don’t over bake- they will start to pull away from the liner)
  • Cool.  
Chocolate Glaze:
  • Melt butter and chocolate together in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between until completely melted and smooth.
  • Set aside until bombs ready to assemble.
  • Assemble the brownies by spooning a little chocolate glaze on top of a brownie and spreading to all edges.
  • Place a “baseball” in the center and sprinkle jimmies around edge.
  • Allow this all to harden up (refrigerate to speed process up).
  • Melt red candy melts in microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between until smooth.
  • Place melted candy melts into a bag or squeeze bottle fitted with a tiny writing tip (I used a Wilton’s 1.5 size).
  • Carefully pipe laces on top of baseballs (use photo as a guide) and allow these to harden.
  • Store in a lightly sealed container for 3-4 days.
  • Enjoy!

See how the center of each baseball needs to accommodate the dome-shaped top of the brownie? Here is what happens if you fill them too flat:

See along the edge how it doesn’t connect well? Yeah. Don’t do that. 🙂

My thoughts: Yes, these take some work. But they are SO CUTE!! I’ve spent way more effort on recipes that didn’t score this high in the fun/cute category. If you are going to waste time making something- waste it making these! Plus they are the BEST brownies… I promise. Delicious. 🙂 

My dad doesn’t play much baseball anymore- but he used to, and I have fond memories of playing hours of catch in the backyard with him. Just for fun, here’s a throwback to his baseball days:

That’s me in the 70’s bib 🙂 And here we are now:

Happy Father’s Day dad! Love you!!!!!!

I know you will probably stop right here on this idea, but just in case you are making TWO desserts for dad, here’s a few other ideas. Click on a photo to see the recipe:

 

 

 

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Grasshopper Mint Cupcakes

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I just love anything that combines mint and chocolate.  I was thinking about those yummy chocolate covered “grasshopper” mint cookies the other day and decided right then and there that I’d try a cupcake recipe in those flavors.

One of my favorite trends in the world these days is the invention of the cupcake store.  We have several here in my hometown- one of which was actually invited to compete on the TV show “Cupcake Wars”.  I love to see the different ideas these little bakeries have for cupcake treats.

About a month ago my friend Megan came to visit.  She’s 1/2 of the team at Happily Ever After Cakes out in Pennsylvania and we met 2 years ago in Russia. Since we share a love for all things sweet AND she was flying into Chicago, we decided to try Sprinkles Cupcakes.  It was amazing- really the best cupcakes I’ve had from a bakery.  The cupcakes were simple– but the frostings….oh my.  I’m obsessed with making the salted caramel frosting they have.  It was the best frosting ever.  Here’s some pictures from our trip– so much yumminess in one little store.

The flavors we tried were: Red velvet, Salted caramel, Mocha and Coconut.  We loved them all- but especially the Salted caramel….!

On to our recipe this week— yummy mint grasshopper cupcakes!  (Makes 24)

INGREDIENTS:

  • One boxed chocolate cake mix (with water, oil and eggs to make according to box)
  • Approximately 36 Andes Mints
  • 1 stick of salted butter (room temp)
  • 1 stick of unsalted butter (room temp)
  • 1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
  • 2 t. mint extract
  • green food coloring

DIRECTIONS:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Make cake mix as directed on box.  Evenly divide it into 24 cupcake papers in muffin tins.
  • Place one Andes mint candy into the center of each unbaked cupcake.

  • Bake at 350 degrees as directed on box.
  • Cool completely.
  • Combine butters, powdered sugar, mint and food coloring in a large mixing bowl and beat on high until very light and fluffy.
  • Place frosting into a zip top bag fitted with a large star decorating tip in one corner.
  • Pipe frosting on each cooled cupcake.
  • Top each cupcake with 1/2 of an Andes Mint Candy.

My thoughts:  These turned out so yummy– just a note that some of the Andes mints sank all the way to the bottom of the cupcake– they still tasted really good in the cupcake– but they weren’t all as fun as the one in my picture (below).  Another note– this frosting recipe makes just enough to frost 24 cupcakes– if you like lots of frosting, double the recipe.  Enjoy!!!!  -r

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