I’m always on the hunt for the chewiest brownies, and conveniently, I came upon a jar of marshmallow fluff in my pantry. What would happen, I wondered, if you fold marshmallow fluff into brownie batter? As it turns out, wonderful things. The marshmallow keeps the brownies wonderfully chewy and springy throughout, while letting the chocolate flavor shine through. The brownie doesn’t have a hint of marshmallows in it, but it lends an undeniably delicious mouth feel.
I decorated the tops Cosmic Brownie-style, covering the tops with a thick layer of ganache and sprinkling elegant chocolate candies over the top. These brownies are decadently rich, so cutting them into bite-sized pieces is ideal. Enjoy and happy baking!
Grown-Up Cosmic Brownies Adapted from a Daphne Brogdon recipe 16 servings
½ cup (1 stick) plus 1 Tbsp. butter, divided
½ cup plus 2 Tbsp. heavy cream. divided
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 heaping cup marshmallow fluff
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. kosher salt
4½ oz. chocolate chips (any variety)
½ tsp. coarse sea salt
Chocolate or colorful candies for sprinkling
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Line an 8-by-8-inch cake pan with parchment paper.
• In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt ½ cup butter and 2 tablespoons cream. Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate until melted and combined.
• Using a hand mixer on medium speed, beat together the marshmallow fluff and sugar. Add the vanilla extract and beat in the eggs one at a time.
• Use a rubber spatula to gently fold in the flour, baking powder and kosher salt until just combined and there are no streaks of flour left in the pot.
• Pour the batter into the pan and bake 30 minutes, until the edges start to pull away from the pan. Let cool to room temperature.
• Meanwhile, make the ganache by melting the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and ½ cup heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat, add the chocolate chips and cover without stirring. Let rest 1 to 2 minutes, then whisk to combine, adding the sea salt. Let cool to room temperature.
• Pour the ganache over the brownies, spreading it into an even layer. Sprinkle the top with chocolate candies, then refrigerate or freeze until hard.
• Slice into bite-sized 2-inch squares and serve at room temperature or chilled.
This article appears in September 2015.
