Brownie bites generally fall into one of two categories: (1) dry and cakey or (2) fudgy and mushy.  Bleh.  Rarely do you come across a brownie bite that manages to retain all the best elements of the brownie’s larger, full-sized self: a crisp outer crust with a warm, gooey center.  When I set about finding a recipe that would live up to this dream, I went straight for the Big Book.

Having read some mixed reviews of the actual recipe for brownie bites, I decided to experiment with the infamous Tribute-to-Katharine-Hepburn Brownies.  The story has it that Katharine Hepburn’s rules to live by were (1) Never quit; (2) Be yourself; and (3) Never put too much flour in your brownies.  Well, ok then.  If it works for Katharine Hepburn, then it’s good enough for me!

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I was fortunate enough to grow up within driving distance of the Happiest Place on Earth.  I was even more fortunate to have the chance to work during my teen years.  One of the best perks of the job was the fantastic discount on all things bought within the Park … including the homemade candy and fudge!!  Along with my dear friend Josh, I would trek down Main Street to the Candy Palace and buy a tray of freshly made Rocky Road.  Oh, chocolate!  Oh, marshmallows!  Oh, walnuts!  This was heaven in a plastic wrapper and, as we all know, there are no calories in anything consumed at the Happiest Place on Earth (wink!) so we happily indulged.  Frequently.

It has been years since I had the benefit of that discount, but when I had an opportunity to celebrate Josh’s birthday with him, I couldn’t resist a dessert that would bring back those Oh-So-Magical memories of Main Street.  Hello, Rocky Road Brownies!!  Come to mamma!

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You will never guess the secret ingredient in this moist, fudgy, not-quite sinful chocolate brownie cake.  Never.  Besides, when I tell you what the secret ingredient is you probably wont believe me.  At least my lovely family that got to eat this cake didn’t believe me.  It wasn’t until after a few “Really?” “No way!” “Seriously?”s that it began to sink in.

Except, of course, for the birthday girl.  When you have an extraordinary cousin who is probably one of the coolest people around and you are lucky enough to call her family, you relish the opportunity to bake her a birthday cake and help her eat it on her birthday.  Now, what of the fact that she is a recycling vegetarian, sustainable-living, slow-food loving, farm friendly girl who knows her way around all corners of the food growing world? Clearly, bacon cupcakes were out of the question.  Did I mention that she was the only one who could guess the secret ingredient after just one bite?  Yep.  I told you, she’s awesome.

Lest this challenge seem easy, let’s not forget that her birthday also happened to fall on Passover this year thus removing the possibility of using leavening, flour or any variety of other baking staples.  An extraordinary challenge for an extraordinary girl … to that I say: Bring it!

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Unapologetically inspired by the classic movie theater candy, Milk Duds, these two-bite morsels combine a chocolaty cookie shell with a soft caramel center.  Deceptively looking like regular old chocolate cookies, the stream of sweet caramel that flows out when you bite into them is a welcome surprise!

These cookies are ridiculously easy to make.  Almost dangerously easy because you will soon find yourself wanting to make them everyday … at least I do!  When I decided to make a Milk Dud-inspired cookie, I searched around for an appropriate recipe to use for the chocolate shell.  I needed something that would be sturdy enough to hide the soft caramel center, yet soft enough to maintain a cookie-like texture.  Deb’s recipe for brownie roll-out cookies looked perfect.  Soft, pliable dough that could be easily rolled around a caramel while still providing an intense chocolate flavor.

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It looks simple.  In theory, it should be easy.  Martha can do it in her sleep.  Deb makes it look like a piece of cake.  But I’ll be the first to admit that swirling two different batters together to achieve a perfect marbled effect isn’t as easy as it seems.  I’ve ventured into marbling a couple times and it’s always ended in a muddled mess.  The picture-perfect swirls of different flavors and textures were simply not my destiny.

Not one to surrender to failure (especially not when it involves chocolate and/or cheesecake!), I decided to give marbling another whirl … literally.  Due to what I can only assume was constant whining about the lack of brownie pans in my kitchen, my boyfriend got me a Baker’s Edge pan for Christmas.  I had been reading about the fantastic results that this pan produces from Nicole at Baking Bites for awhile, so I was fairly giddy about trying it out.  It is essentially a 9 x 13 baking pan that has internal “walls” that create edges throughout the dish.  This is supposed to help with even cooking and ensures lots of edges to brownies, cookie bars, and even lasagna!

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