Brownies...in the Crockpot!

I have a gigantic folder of recipe bookmarks in Mozilla, and they're all broken out into various categories.  One of those categories is desserts in the crockpot, because if you didn't know this already, you can totally bake in your crockpot.  A recipe I've had saved for a while is from Stephanie's blog "A Year of Slow Cooking", and she made brownies using mugs placed in her crockpot.  Now, it takes about 2 hours and there's really nothing different about how they come out, so I have no problem admitting that there's not a huge reason for doing it this way other than it's something different to try.

I used a 10-ounce bag of Betty Crocker mix, so I was able to split the batter between two coffee mugs.  Definitely use the mugs that don't have any sentimental value, just in case something breaks.  I only had one in my cabinet so I had to go searching in our boxes of dishes in the basement.  This really was easy to do, and I think I would do this again if only because you can throw them in the crockpot before dinner instead of trying to schedule them into your cooking.  It's really difficult for them to burn too.  I think I looked at them twice in the first 45 minutes, and then I got distracted and didn't look again until I saw the clock said they had been in there for 2 hours.  Nothing was burning though, so I was confident they came out well (and they did!).

Grocery shopping has been an unfamiliar activity the past few weeks, so we didn't have any vanilla ice cream or whipped cream to serve with it.  I poured some cold milk into my brownie mug and Hubby added some low-fat Strawberry Cheesecake ice cream -- both were fantastic!  We ate ours as dessert while we watched the second disc of "Weeds" season 6.  It was pure bliss.


Brownie in a Mug Crockpot Recipe
originally from A Year of Slow Cooking
makes 2-4 brownie mugs

2 - 4 coffee mugs
Your preferred brownie mix and any associated ingredients
Cooking spray

Prepare the brownie mix according to the package directions.  Coat each much with non-stick spray and split the batter between the mugs.  Since we used a small pouch of mix and two mugs, each one was a little more than half full.

Put the mugs in the crockpot.  Cover and cook on High for 1.5 - 3 hours.

Our brownies were done at the 2-hour mark.  They were probably done a little sooner than that but I had forgotten to check them.  You'll know they're done when they've risen, the edges pull from the sides, and a knife comes out clean.

This next part is super important because it will go against your instincts -- DO NOT TOUCH THE MUGS.  They are going to be extremely hot.  Turn the crockpot off and leave them sit for a while with the lid off until they're cool to the touch.  I used a pot holder to take each of our mugs out and sit them on the wire cookie rack to cool off.

When all mugs are cool enough to be handled, top with your desired extras and dig in.

Dulce de Leche Brownies

I love caramel.  Or, as Hubby says, "you love carmel".  It's quite the debate in our house.  (I would like to note that Blogger has just placed a beautiful red underline below carmel - thus proving that caramel is correct!)  It has this amazing flavor that shifts between savory and sweet.  I love eating the individual little caramels in the plastic wrappers, and my husband thinks it's gross.  More for me!

Last week I saw that Jen at Beantown Baker made dulce de leche at home.  In her crockpot.  Then I saw that the recipe came from Stephanie at A Year of Slow Cooking.  These are my two primary cooking blogs and it was like my food worlds collided in deliciousness.  Now I'm trying to get back on the weight loss track, so it's hard to justify why it's a good idea to make an entire can of dulce de leche that I will probably just want to eat with a spoon.  I went in search of a recipe to incorporate it and found one for Dulce de Leche Brownies from David Lebovitz.  Granted this is no better than eating an entire can of caramel, but at least I can take these in to work and force them on other people.

I put a 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk in the crockpot at about 10:30 p.m. on a Tuesday night.  The milk cooked overnight for about 8.5 hours and I took the can out at about 7:00 a.m. on Wednesday morning.  It didn't cool enough for me to open it before I left for work, so I put the can in the fridge and had to wait until that night to open it.  I couldn't wait to get home!  As I turned the can opener around the lid I got a peak of the light brown caramel and it smelled incredible.  A small taste confirmed that it had worked and I now had 14 ounces of caramel.  I ran upstairs so that my husband could taste, and needless to say he was impressed.

I have another can of milk sitting on my counter, just daring me...



Dulce de Leche
from A Year of Slow Cooking and Beantown Baker
makes 14 ounces 

1 can (14-oz) sweetened condensed milk
Water


Remove the label from the can of sweetened condensed milk.  I made only one can, but feel free to throw in however many you need (or can fit!).

Place the unopened can in the crockpot and fill with water until the can is covered.

Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours.

Remove can with tongs very carefully.  Open when can is cool enough to the touch.  Eat until sick to your stomach, and refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container.



Dulce de Leche Brownies
recipe from David Lebovitz 
makes ~ 12 brownies

8 Tbsp salted or unsalted butter, cut into pieces
6 ounces bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 cup cocoa
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1 cup dulce de leche

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  

Line an 8-inch square dish with aluminum foil that covers the bottom and reaches up the sides of the dish, hanging over the sides.  If one piece of foil doesn't do the job, use two and cross them.  Grease the bottom and sides of the foil with butter or non-stick cooking spray (I used Pam for Baking).

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan.  Add the chocolate pieces and stir constantly over very low heat until the chocolate is melted.  Remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth.  Add in the eggs, one at a time.  Then stir in the sugar, vanilla, and then the flour.

Scrape half of the batter into the prepared pan.  Drop 1/3 of the dulce de leche, evenly spaced in dollops, over the brownie batter, then use a knife to swirl through.  Spread the remaining brownie batter on top, then drop spoonfuls of the remaining dulce de leche over the top of the batter.  Use your knife again to swirl through.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes.  The brownies are done when the center feels just-slightly firm.  Remove from the oven and cool completely.

The brownies taste even better the second day.  They'll keep up to 3 days, covered or in an airtight container.  Ours didn't make it that long so I can't really vouch for the timeline.