Candy Cane Kiss Brownie Bites

 

 Oh, you know I love a surprise in the middle!  In fact, I recently saw this pan in the Sur La Table catalog and I'm trying to figure out how to justify getting it:

See what they're doing there?  There's a little spike in the middle that HOLDS your surprise filling in place (in this case, COOKIE DOUGH, so thrilling!) so it stays right where it should and doesn't sink.  I love how this designer thinks.

But back to my brownie bites.  These were done in mini muffin pans so I couldn't have used the fancy pan anyway.  But you could use a mini cheesecake or bouchon mold and they would be even prettier than mine.  I just don't have either of those...yet!

Regardless, these bites are festive, easy, and crowd-pleasing (which around here means kid-pleasing, especially since they got to help.)  And while I'm generally a from-scratch kind of girl, sometimes it's great to just use a mix. 

 

OK, one last note.  Have you tried candy cane kisses yet?   Of course you have, because you bought them to make last year's Peppermint Kiss Cookies.  Well I really like them, but just one complaint.  They claim to have "candy cane pieces" in them, which you would believe if you never looked closely.  But what they have are stripes, mint flavor, and red-and-white nonpariels inside for the pretend-candy-cane crunch.  C'mon, just be accurate. 

And on that note, here's a great recipe!

Candy Cane Kiss Brownie Bites (print recipe)
1 brownie mix (9 x 13 size)
24 Candy Cane Hershey's Kisses
1/2 cup chocolate chips
2 T heavy cream
3 candy canes, crushed

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Prepare brownie mix according to package directions and scoop into a mini cheesecake pan or mini muffin tin pan that has been generously sprayed with cooking spray, about 3/4 way full.  Press kisses into center of brownie batter, do not push all the way to bottom, some of the tip should stick out the top.

 Bake for about 20 minutes or until brownies are cooked through.  Let cool completely.

2.  Melt chocolate chips and cream in microwave 30 second intervals until smooth and melted.  Stir until silky smooth.  You can place back in microwave for 10 seconds to smooth more if needed.  Dip tops of brownies into melted chocolate, then sprinkle with crushed candy canes.  Serve with a tall glass of milk.

Recipe from http://picky-palate.com/