Brownie Sundaes in a Mug

BEWARE:  Addictive Recipe Below . . .And Not-Very-Good Photos!  EVIL and ADDICTING!

Okay.  That's my PSA for the week.

We've all seen them:  recipes in a mug / single serve recipes / cooked in the microwave.  Yeah yeah yeah.  So, I finally gave in and tried one out.   I always thought that I never would.  I have a family.  Why would I need a single-serve ANYTHING??  Especially a brownie!  The fam would kill me if I didn't make a whole pan for them to devour.

And then opportunity knocked.  Or perhaps just shut the door.  As in, the teenager was gone for a few days and the little was already asleep for the night.  And hubby wanted something sweet to eat.

Hello . . .. Google search!  And here is where it lead me:  http://www.lovefromtheoven.com.  Specifically, http://www.lovefromtheoven.com/2012/07/14/brownie-a-la-anytime-single-serving-brownies-made-in-the-microwave/ .

E.V.I.L.

I warned you.  But if you still want to move forward . . .here is the recipe with very little tweeks.  All credit really goes to the blog above.  I didn't really change much.

Brownie Sundae in a Mug

4 Tablespoons Flour

2 Tablespoons Sugar

Pinch Of Salt

1/8 teaspoon Baking Powder

2 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder

1 Tablespoon Melted Butter

1.5 Tablespoons Oil (such as vegetable, canola or coconut)

1 Tablespoon Water

1/4 Teaspoon Vanilla

1 Tablespoon Chocolate Chips

Melt the butter in your favorite mug via the microwave (took mine about 20 seconds).  Add the remaining ingredients and stir well.  

Scrap the sides down and press firmly into the mug.  Microwave for about 1 minute.  Then check for your desired done-ness.  I nuked mine in-total for 90 seconds.  Please note, it will be very hot!!!  Let cool for 5 minutes.   Not too pretty .. . but I warned you!

To serve, top with HUGE scoop of ice cream.  Eat slowly . . .it's delicous.  So delicious, we had them not just one night . . .but two nights in a row.  SHHHHHHHHHHHHhh . . .don't tell the kids!!!

Chocolate, Peanut Ice Cream Pie

So, last week was Pi Day (in case you missed it).  Pi Day = March 14th.  Get it?  Pi Day.  This will certainly identify who the math geeks are out in reader land.  Any who, I have a teenager who isn't so crazy about math.  However, she was very excited about Pi Day for whatever reason.  In fact, she was so excited about it - she was even in her math room at 3:14 pm on 3/14 (the date).  I felt it necessary to hop on that train and to celebrate this milestone by making a pie.

And if I said it once, I've said it a million times:  creativity is often spurred by empty cupboards and the lack of ambition to leave the house.

And for this treat - I had no fruit in the house. . . not even an apple.  Or whipped cream (who wants pudding pie with out whipped cream??).  And the hubby doesn't like meringue.  But, I did have an Oreo Pie Crust and vanilla ice cream.  Yes, yes . . .an ice cream pie it was!  

This isn't the best picture because I couldn't capture the differentiation of the layers very well.  But they are there:  Cookie Crust, Hot Fudge, Peanuts, Vanilla Ice Cream and more Peanuts.  This pie will live in infamy at our house.  The fudge layer was just soooooooooooo fudgy and evil.  Yes.  Evil.  And I cannot stop thinking about it.

Ingredients

1 Oreo Pie Crust

3 Cups Vanilla Ice Cream

1/2 Cup - 1 Cup of Peanuts (bonus if they are stolen from your hubby's lunch bucket, hehe!)

1/3 Cup + 1 TB Sugar

1/4 Cup Cocoa

1/4 Cup + 1 TB Half & Half 

3 TB Corn Syrup

3 TB Butter, sliced

1/2 Tsp Vanilla 

1 TB Instant Espresso Powder

Step 1:  Sprinkle the peanuts on the bottom of the pie crust.  Reserve some for decoration later.

Step 2:  Prepare the fudge sauce.  In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, espresso powder and cocoa.  Add in the Half and Half and corn syrup.  Heat on medium high and stir constantly.  Bring to a boil (keep stirring!) and boil for 1 minute.  Remove from the pan from the heat and add in the butter and vanilla.  Stir until the butter is melted and incorporated into the sauce.  Pour into the crust and then place the pie crust into the freezer until the fudge sauce firms up.

Step 3:  Once the fudge has firmed up, soften the ice cream and spread into the pie tin very gently.  

Step 4:  Garnish with remaining peanuts and return to freezer to firm up.  

Step 5:  Ingest, enjoy and live in that happy place induced by a sugar coma and dream about 3.14.

In this picture of a bite-sized morsel of pie you can see the layers much better!