Pantry Fudge Brownies

Going to make this short and sweet. Like me :)

I have one kid home due to a Covid exposure and he has enough energy to supply all of my town's generators. The other two are in school, but getting them off to school while one gets to stay home requires just about the same amount of energy I just spoke about. Seriously.

So what do you do with a 5-year-old quaratined kid for a few days that will keep both of you engaged and productive?

You clean the pantry then use what you found to make brownies. It's a win-win.

Good God my pantry needed it. Reversely, this kid did not need more sweets but whatever, trying times make for bending the rules.

So we found umpteen bags of pretzels, about 4 sleeves of 1/2 eaten Pringles, random stashes of Ritz crackers, M&Ms hidden away, Lucky Charms minus the Charms, sprinkles for every season and chocolate chips in every variety Nestle turned out this year.

You find the same stuff, yes?

Good.

So since I'm not a 'thower-awayer', I did the next best thing that would keep my son involved (aka not glued to the TV) and me happy.

We made brownies with some of our pantry "treasures".

Fudge brownies, in fact.

Because the only thing better than fudge brownies are fudge brownies with rainbow sprinkles and extra chocolate encased within. And perhaps some salty pretzel pieces and peauter butter chips, just to ensure that we've got a superior product. :)

And we did. Fudgy, a touch salty, hella chocolately, and ever so whimsical topped with a 5-year-old's personal addition of rainbow sprinkles. (That's a torrential downpour if you need a visual.)

Ironically, we cleaned out one mess in the pantry just to make another one on the counter. Lovely.

Eh, so we cleaned up BOTH messes, ate some brownies, watched TV together and stayed in our pajamas all day. All while talking about his sisters we missed and the next thing to clean out.

Although I didn't mention it......I don't think he'll like the hall closet idea, aint no brownies coming from that boot/slipper/sneaker bomb of a space.

Oh well, he'll survive. I will too.

All with the help of more dessert and extra time to cuddle.

Enjoy......

Pantry Fudge Brownies

Yields: 12 small brownies or 6-8 acceptable size ones, :)

Adapted from: Inspiredtaste

Ingredients:

10 TBS unsalted butter, cut into about 6 chunks

1 1/4 C granulated sugar

3/4 C plus 2 TBS unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs, cold

1/2 C all-purpose fllour

1/4 C each brownie fillings (pick 3) - pretzel bits, M&Ms, chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, sprinkles, nuts, etc ( I used pretzels, M&Ms, peanut butter & chocolate chips and sprinkles for this recipe FYI)

1. Preheat oven to 325 F if using shiny or light-colored baking pan. 300 F if using dark metal or dark pans.

2. Line baking pan with parchment paper with overhang on the sides.

3. In a small-medium sauce pan, add enough water to fill 1/4 way up. Heat until boiling, then reduce to slow simmer.

4. Using a heat safe bowl that will fit atop simmering water, add the butter, sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Think something like a double boiler set up.

5. Stir the mixture frequently so that eventually it all melts together. Once all the butter has melted and the mixture is quite warm, remove from heat. (It will appear gritty, no worries!)

6. Let mixture cool for about 5-10 minutes then add the vanilla and combine. Then, add eggs in one at a time, stirring rapidly after each addition.

7. Once well blended, add the flour and mix strongly as the batter will be thick! Mix for about 1-2 minutes. Once the batter starts to pull away from the bowl, you're good! (You can use a hand mixer if you'd prefer!)

8. Add in your fillings, mix to distribute evenly, and spread evenly in lined pan. Use a rubber spatula to help you fill pan and spread to the corners.

9. Bake on the lower third of the oven for about 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few fudge-like moist crumbs.

10. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Using the overhang, remove brownies from pan and cut to serve. For clean-cuts, place brownies in freezer for about 15-30 minutes to help firm up.