Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Bite This



There is a basic inequity in my marriage. I'm not talking about the fact that my husband has a reach that's about twice my height. Or the fact that he's way stronger than me, easily opening jars that confound me. Or that he can fix just about anything. I'm talking about the fact that we can go outdoors together and he'll come back refreshed by the encounter with nature and I'll be one giant, swollen, itchy mass of bug bites.

It doesn't matter what the insect is - spider, mosquito, midge, or whatever- if it has a choice between my husband and me, it'll turn up it's buggy nose at him and make a beeline for me. For some reason I'm irresistible. Maybe all the sugar I ingest makes me sweeter than him; I don't know. All I know is it's not fair!



However, as I've been told and frequently tell my kids, Life Is Not Fair. You just do the best you can with the way things are. I retaliate by clobbering the daylights out of any bug I see, pounding it with my shoe till it's a pulp. And I make my own bites. Brownie bites.

Far more satisfying than scratching insect bites is making little nibbles of brownie, capped with a dollop of Nutella. With bites like these, life is sweet again. And honestly, I'd rather bake than hike any day!

Nutella Brownie Bites
-adapted from Sunset magazine

1/2 cup butter
1 oz. unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup Nutella


1-Preheat oven to 350 deg. F. Generously butter 24 mini-muffin cups.

2- In a heatproof bowl, microwave 1/2 cup butter to melt. (Use medium power and cover the bowl with wax paper to keep the butter from spattering.) Add the chocolate, stirring until melted, then add the sugar and cocoa powder. Stir to blend. Whisk in eggs, vanilla, and salt. Add flour and stir until smooth. Spoon batter evenly into mini-muffin cups. (The batter will make 24 brownie bites, plus have a bit of leftover batter.)

3- Using the tip of a wooden spoon, make a small depression in each portion of batter. Spoon 3/4 tsp Nutella into each hole.

4- Bake until a toothpick inserted into the brownie part comes out with just a few moist crumbs, about 15 minutes.

5- Let cool on a rack about 10 minutes. Using a small spatula or plastic fork, loosen brownies from pans and move to rack to cool completely.

Store covered at room temperature.

21 comments:

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Brownie bites are definitely better than bug bites. I'd rather have these any day:D

Romy said...

This post made me smile. :) And who could ever say no to Nutella?

Unknown said...

You post made me LOL, these bites look yumm-E

Mindy said...

I love the story that goes along with your BITES!

natalia said...

Ciao ! I must confess that I'm the lucky one in the family non matter how much sugar I eat !! These bites are to good to be true !!

The Cutting Edge of Ordinary said...

Nutella is like one of my most favorite flavors on this big blue marble! I'm addicted I tell ya. I have 3 industrial size jars in the cupboard right now! So making these! Thanks Lynn!

We Are Not Martha said...

Bugs love me, too! Maybe it is all the sugar... But these look SO good. I don't use Nutella nearly enough... :)

Sues

scrambledhenfruit said...

...and I just happen to have a fresh jar of nutella in the cupboard- lucky me! These look so cute and yummy. :)

Barbara said...

Bug bites? Boo, hiss.
Brownie bites? Delicious!

C-ingspots said...

You made me laugh! You sound just like my husband, he gets bit all the time, but the bugs don't like me. Too sour, I guess! Those brownie bites look yummy! Thanks!

Maria said...

I have a jar of Nutella, I know what I am baking!

RecipeGirl said...

Whoa! Nutella fan here! These look like delicious little bites.

Brilynn said...

I'm with you, baking over hiking always wins...

The Blonde Duck said...

It's true! Opposites attract!

Karen Baking Soda said...

Lynn! Made them this morning and spend the rest of the day fending off grabbing fingers... they're supposed to be a treat for son's party tomorrow. (I've "lost" quite a few already). Great recipe!

Elle said...

Yeah, the buggies like me best, too. I still enjoy hiking but I use anti-bug spray. Baking is alwaays my recreation of first choice and brownies are one of my favorite bites...and these are totally cute!

CaSaundraLeigh said...

This post reminds me--I still haven't gotten around to ever trying Nutella--gasp!

Zoe said...

very cute little bite. Love the idea.

Homemade Heaven said...

Keith and I are exactly the same, we sleep in the same tent and I'll climb out in the morning covered in bites and he has nothing! It's our sweet blood! I love the brownie bites, those are bites I can live with!

grace said...

this creation is nothing but bad news. the last thing i need is something so simultaneously tempting and easy to eat! :)

Zoe said...

Hi Lynn, I've made these little brownies and they are brilliant. I'm very impressed with this recipe and did a blog post on these baby Nutella cupcakes with a link to your post. Thank you so much for sharing.