Mississippi Mud Brownies (4 Star)

I can't stop thinking about these brownies. I want to make them every day and eat them all myself. They are fudgy, dense, chewy, and my favorite part is the salty peanut butter on top. Another thing that I like about them is that they are made with cocoa powder, not unsweetened baking squares. It's cheaper that way, easier, and no sacrifice at all in flavor or texture.

I didn't even make them to the full extent of their wickedness because I didn't have marshmallows, pecans, or powdered sugar, but I'm excited for the day that I do. However, they were extremely good with just the chocolate chips and peanut butter.

I was a little unsure about this recipe at first, because it only calls for two tablespoons of cocoa powder in the brownies. I thought that there was no way that was enough but they turned out really good, though they were on the light side of chocolaty. The semi sweet chips added a lot more chocolate. However, if you do want them to have more intense chocolate flavor, then increase the cocoa powder and decrease the flour. I made them once as written in the original recipe and once with more chocolate. Pictured are the more chocolaty ones. I am posting the recipe with my changes.

Mississippi Mud Brownies
adapted from Tasty Kitchen

•1/2 cups All-purpose Flour
•1/3 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
•1/4 teaspoons Salt
•1/2 cups Unsalted Butter, At Room Temperature
•1 cup White Sugar
•1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
•2 whole Large Eggs
•3/4 cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
•1/2 cups Crunchy Peanut Butter (Smooth works fine, too. My favorite is Kirkland Signature's organic peanut butter.)
•2 cups Mini Marshmallows
•1/2 cups Chopped And Toasted Pecans
•2 cups Confectioner's Sugar
•1/8 teaspoons Salt
•4 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
•2 Tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
•1/4 cups Plus 2 Tablespoons Of Milk
•1/4 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8×8″ square baking pan with parchment paper or foil. If using foil, spray it with cooking spray.

In medium bowl, combine flour, 1/3 cup cocoa powder, and salt. Set aside.

In large mixing bowl, beat together butter, sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time. Stir dry ingredients into batter. Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Bake in preheated oven for 22-25 minutes.

When brownie layer is done baking, gently spread peanut butter over hot brownie. If you use a peanut butter that is thick, you can add a little oil and microwave until it's a little more runny. With mine, I didn't need to do this. Sprinkle the peanut butter covered brownies with marshmallows. Return to oven to bake for 3 more minutes, or until the marshmallows puff. Remove from oven and sprinkle puffed marshmallows with toasted pecans.

To make frosting, combine confectioners sugar and salt. In small saucepan, melt 4 Tablespoons butter over medium heat. When butter is melted, add the 2 Tablespoons of cocoa powder and 1/4 cup of the milk and heat until the mixture begins to boil. Pour this mixture into confectioners sugar/salt mixture and beat on high speed with an electric mixer until smooth and glossy. If frosting is not pourable at this point, add remaining 2 Tablespoons of milk (I didn’t have to do this). Lastly, beat in 1/4 teaspoon vanilla, then pour evenly over puffed marshmallows and pecans.

Let cool completely in refrigerator for 1-2 hours. Cut into squares and enjoy!



Click here for the original recipe.