The little sugar-loving devil inside of me won the fight. You know, the internal fight I have with myself on a daily basis to make the best choices possible when it comes to what I eat. Yeah, that fight. It can be very violent I tell you. The claws come out and there may even be hair-pulling.
Ok, no not really.
“Healthified” and “gluten free” desserts were well and good this past week, but it was only a matter of time until I indulged in a homemade treat like this again. A dessert with full-fat butter, sugar and that notorious refined white all-purpose flour rarely disappoints. And I was going to enjoy every last bite.
This is one recipe I have been hanging onto for several months and now can finally announce with certainty I will not be letting it go anytime soon. It lived up to every expectation I had.
This is how it started…
Jessica made red velvet brownies. Dorothy adapted that to make a red velvet brownie pie. Now I have adapted that to make Mini Red Velvet Brownie Pies.
So. dang. cute.
I’ll take three.
After a couple of late nights out this weekend, spending a lazy Sunday afternoon enjoying something like this is just what I needed.
Mini Red Velvet Brownie Pies
(Adapted from How Sweet It Is and Crazy for Crust; I halved their recipe which is reflected below)
Makes 9 mini pies
Ingredients:
Refrigerated pie crust, cut into 9-3inch circles (using a circular cookie cutter is the easiest way)
For the brownies-
1/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract, divided
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 tablespoon red food coloring
For the cream cheese whipped cream frosting-
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup plus 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin tin with nonstick spray. Place one circular pie crust into the bottom of 9 of the wells and set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand-alone mixer, cream butter and sugar. Add egg, then 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Mix until well combined.
3. In a small bowl, combine cocoa powder, food coloring and remaining 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Stir thoroughly. Add to stand-mixer and blend. Add flour and salt. Continue to mix until well combined.
4. Pour about 2 tablespoons of batter on top of the pie crusts in the wells. Spread in an even layer with spoon, or gently tap pan on counter to flatten batter.
5. Bake 18-20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the middle of a mini pie comes out clean.
6. While pies are baking, prepare frosting. Beat heavy whipping cream and 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar until stiff peaks form. In a separate bowl, beat cream cheese and 1/4 cup sugar. Fold cream cheese mixture into whipped cream.
7. Once pies have cooled completely, frost as desired!
OH MY GOD YOU ARE A GENIUS. Sorry, was I shouting? I didn't mean to shout. I'm just excited. 🙂 These are great, and thanks for the shout out! Also, why have I never been here before? Your site is great! New follower!!
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These look so decadent! I don't think I'd be able to stop at just one!
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Aw, thank you! Haha I loved the idea of a whole pie, but wanted to make a smaller portion and figured this was the best way to do so. Thanks for following 🙂
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Trust me, I couldn't either!
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