I rarely make things that are artificially colored. I just generally don’t like the way that they taste — not to mention how they often look — but every once in a while there are exceptions. Case in point: these Mini-M&M Brownie Bites, all dressed up in Spring and Easter colors. While yes, there is an overload of pastel here, it is the exception in my baking. The brownies are my “from scratch” recipe — no box here — and I painstakingly divided the colors from the mini-M&M packages. Yes, I am insane! 🙂
Ingredients
1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons instant espresso (optional)
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons boiling water
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon table salt
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 8-ounce bag mini M&Ms
Directions
Heat oven to 350F degrees. Make a foil sling for your 13 x 9 inch pan. Spray with nonstick cooking spray.
Whisk cocoa, espresso powder (if using), and boiling water together in large bowl until smooth. Add unsweetened chocolate and whisk until chocolate is melted. Whisk in melted butter and oil. Add eggs, yolks, and vanilla and continue to whisk until smooth and homogeneous. Whisk in sugar until fully incorporated. Add flour and salt and mix with rubber spatula until combined. Fold in bittersweet chocolate pieces. Scrape batter into prepared pan and spring the top with the mini-M&S (they should cover the entire surface).
Bake until toothpick inserted halfway between edge and center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, 30 to 35 minutes. If you like more cake-like brownies, bake for 5 minutes longer. Transfer pan to wire rack and cool 30 minutes.
Using foil overhang, lift brownies from pan. Return brownies to wire rack and let cool completely, about 1 hour more. Using a cookie cutter, cut to 2 inch circles (or you can just cut with a knife into 2-inch squares, if you don’t have a cookie cutter).
