The whole month of February tends to be hearts and flowers, red and pink, lace and velvet. Today, let’s talk about a specific combination…red velvet!
Today’s post is an easy recipe for red velvet brownies! When I made this recipe on Valentine’s Day for a family dinner, I discovered that if you pop them in the refrigerator for a bit they take on a texture more like a cookie cake (a big hit in my family).
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Red Velvet Brownies
Ingredients for Brownies:
10 Tbs butter
1 ¼ C white sugar
2 Tbs cocoa powder
1 large whole egg
1 large egg yolk (save the egg white for a breakfast scramble)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 ½ Tbs red food coloring (or if you are using a thicker food coloring 25-30 drops)
1 ¼ C all-purpose flour
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp white vinegar
1 C white chocolate chips (optional)
Ingredients for Frosting:
½ C butter (room temperature)
8 oz full fat cream cheese (room temperature)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 C powdered sugar
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Line an 8X8 inch pan with parchment paper (to make removing the brownies easier). (Don’t have parchment paper? Foil works too.)
- In a microwave safe bowl, microwave the butter until it is melted (try 30 second increments).
- Add the sugar and cocoa powder to the melted butter and whisk together.
- Add the whole egg, egg yolk, red food coloring, and vanilla then whisk together well.
- Fold in the salt and flour with a spatula. Whisk in the vinegar.
- Fold in the chocolate chips if you choose to add them. (I did not add chocolate chips in the batch for these photos.)
- Press the batter evenly into the baking dish. This “batter” is thicker than most brownie batters – it is more like cookie dough.
- Bake on the middle rack of the preheated oven for 28-32 minutes (until an inserted toothpick comes out with just a few damp crumbs).
- Set the brownies aside to cool for 2-3 hours in the pan.
- While they cool, make the frosting: Start by combining the butter and the cream cheese. (You can either fold them together with a spatula or make it easier by using a stand or hand mixer.)
- Add and mix in the vanilla.
- Add the powdered sugar ½ cup at a time.
- When the brownies have cooled, top them with an even spread of frosting.
- Lift the parchment paper out of the pan and remove it from the sides and bottom of the brownies.
- Cut the brownies into the desired size/number, then serve.
Notes:
-If you refrigerate the brownies (topped with the frosting) for an hour the frosting will set up more, and the brownies will become stiffer too. This gives the brownies more of a red velvet cookie cake texture.
-You can make these brownies without the frosting. They are tasty with just the chocolate chips in them.
-Another variation would be to leave the white chocolate chips out of the batter, and instead pour them on top of the brownies when they are fresh out of the oven. As they melt, use a spatula to spread them across the top for a thinner chocolate topping.
-You can also use this recipe to make traditional brownies by simply leaving the food coloring out.
Happy Baking!