December 17, 2009

12 Days of Goodies- Day 5: Christmas Brownie Pops




Ok, so I don't usually like to toot my own horn, but these are pretty darn cute, aren't they? So cute in fact, that they have actually won me some awards. Ok, not really. My mom hosts a Christmas cookie exchange party every year, where people nominate and vote on cookies in several different categories: "most effort", "best looking", "best tasting", you get the idea. And even though I am technically not allowed to win in any of these categories, I always enter in hopes of secretly winning. Prize or no prize, I just want the title and prestige. Well, this year I won, in almost every category, but I so graciously stepped down from my throne to the runners up. Like I said, I don't need a prize. Just the glory.



I realized when getting ready to post this particular sweet treat, that I don't necessarily have a recipe to share with all of you. (I used a boxed brownie mix, gasp! But it was Ghiradelli, so that's a little better, right?) I guess all I can do is pass along my decorating techniques, so that you too can impress a crowd with these adorable Christmas goodies. And surprisingly enough, they didn't take near the amount of time that I was counting on. Two to three hours, yes, but I was estimating around four to five. So if you've got some extra time this week, I suggest you give these a try, because I promise you, people will think you've somehow gone and become a professional baker!



Snowman and Santa Brownie Pops

What You'll Need:
2 boxes of brownie mix and the necessary ingredients to go with it (eggs and oil)
a Wilton brownie pop mold
candy pop sticks
vanilla confectionary coating (Ghiradelli recommended)
red confectionary coating (Ghiradelli recommended)
Americolor pink and orange oil based dye, (to make a flesh toned coating for Santa)
dark chocolate confectionary coating (for the eyes and santa's smile)
red and green round sprinkles
Optional: carrot shaped sprinkles for the snowman's nose (or you can use the orange dye to make a small amount of orange tinted confectionary coating)
various cake decorating tips: #2, #3, #7
disposable pastry bags
wax paper

Directions:

1. Mix together the brownie mix according to the package directions. Fill the brownie pop mold about 2/3 full and bake according to brownie package directions, but adjust the baking time as necessary. (I heated my oven to 325ยบ F and baked each batch for 25 minutes. There are only 8 cavities in the brownie pop mold, so I had to make 4 batches).

2. After the brownies have cooled, insert a candy stick into the rounded top of each brownie.

3. For the snowman: melt the vanilla confectionary coating in a tall coffee mug in the microwave. Carefully immerse each brownie pop into the melted coating, and set on wax paper to dry. Before the white coating is completely dry, place a carrot sprinkle and 2 green round sprinkles (for the buttons) on each coated brownie. Melt the red confectionary coating in the same manner. Spoon the melted red coating into a disposable pastry bag fitted with a coupler and a #7 Wilton cake decorating tip. Draw on a scarf around the circumference of the brownie. Melt the dark chocolate coating, place in a pastry bag fitted with a #2 tip, and dot 2 eyes on each snowman. Let dry completely and enjoy!

4. For the Santa: Melt vanilla confectionary coating in a tall coffee mug in the microwave. Depending on how much confectionary coating you melt, place a tiny amount of pink and orange dye into the mug and mix to create a flesh tone. (I melted approximately 8 oz of vanilla coating and used about 2 small drops of pink and 3 small drops of orange). Immerse each brownie pop into the melted coating. Place on wax paper to dry completely. Melt red confectionary coating in the same manner. Scoop into a disposable pastry bag fitted with a coupler and #7 Wilton cake decorating tip. Draw on a hat on top of each coated brownie. Melt dark chocolate coating, place in a pastry bag fitted with a #2 tip, and draw on eyes and a small smile on each brownie. Next, melt more vanilla coating, place in a pastry bag fitted with a #3 tip, and do small dots to create a beard. If the dots start to melt together, use the cake tip to pull the chocolate upwards to create little white tips. Lastly, place a red round sprinkle on the white beard, above the smile, for a nose. Let dry completely and enjoy!

* If you live in the Dallas area, I got most of my supplies at Cake Carousel (if you like to bake, this is a really cool store to check out!) If not, order supplies from NY Cake. Visiting the store in person is so much better, but their website can still help you take care of all your baking needs!

4 comments :

  1. I Love these!! I will so be trying these this week!!! Thanks for posting them!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Good luck! I hope they turn out well for you! They are easier than they look to make! I promise!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous11/11/2011

    How far ahead can these be made? Can they be frozen??

    ReplyDelete
  4. These will keep like cakeballs. They could most likely be made up to 3 days ahead of your event. I would not suggest freezing them however. The brownies themselves could be frozen, but once they are dipped in the confectionary coating, freezing or even refrigerating them will cause them to "sweat". Hope this helps!

    ReplyDelete