Brownie Petit Fours With Chocolate Ganache Recipes

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 10-inch oven-safe skillet. Fill a medium pot with about 1 1/2 inches of water, and bring to a simmer. Place a medium bowl over the pot and add the chocolate, butter and oil. Heat, stirring frequently, until the chocolate and butter are melted. (Alternatively, place the chocolate, butter and oil in microwave-safe bowl, and microwave for 30 seconds, then stir. Continue to microwave in 15-second bursts, stirring after each, until the butter and chocolate are melted.) Remove the bowl from the heat and whisk in the light brown sugar and granulated sugar. (The mixture will be grainy.)
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. To the chocolate mixture, add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Whisk in the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared skillet and spread into an even layer using a spatula.
• Bake the brownie until the surface appears set: A toothpick inserted into the center should come out with a few moist crumbs attached, 30 to 33 minutes. Let cool completely.
• While the brownie cools, make the ganache: Place the chocolate in a medium, heat-safe bowl. Bring the cream to a simmer in a small pot over medium heat. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let it stand undisturbed for 15 seconds. Stir the ganache until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Let cool slightly.
• Once the brownie is cool, spread the ganache onto the brownie in an even layer. (It will have thickened slightly. If it's not thick enough, you can refrigerate it for 10 minutes or so; if it thickens too much, you can microwave it in 10-second bursts in a microwave-safe bowl until it's spreadable again.) Sprinkle with flaky sea salt.

Steps:

• 1. Make the brownies! If using the box kind follow directions on the box. If using your own recipe, follow that. Petit fours are usually small squares so make sure the pan you use will help these come out to 1x1 bites. I used a 12x17 pan which worked perfect for two boxes of mix. 2. Let brownies cool. Either on the counter or pop them in the fridge for a bit. Make sure your pan is cooled enough so it won't crack. 3. Once the brownies are cooled, cut them into 1x1 squares and place on a drying rack or parchment paper. If a holiday is coming up, you can find small cookie cutters and shape these into hearts, shamrocks etc. 4. In a separate heat friendly bowl, dump the bag of chocolate and set aside. You can also add in vanilla extract or liqueur into the bowl with the chocolate and give them a toss or two to coat them. 5. Once the brownies are cool and cut you can make the ganache! Heat the 1 cup of heavy cream (not whipping cream!) on the stove. You want to bring it to a boil for like 2-3 minutes and stir pretty frequently while heating it. Just hot enough to melt the chocolate. 6. In your heat friendly bowl, pour the heated cream over the chocolate and let it sit for a minute or two. Then whisk until the chocolate melts and you have a nice creamy, shinny look. Let it sit for like 3 minutes or so. Just so it can set a little and not slide right off the brownie bites. 7. Coat those suckers! I used chop sticks to coat the brownie bites, but if you have little fondue forks or a spoon that works too. Just plop them in, give them a good coating and place the bites back on the drying rack or parchment. 8. Once you coat each piece let them dry. I waited about an hour before decorating, but if you want to wait over night you can. Just pop them in the fridge. Once the bites are dry you can decorate by icing on flowers, hearts or whatever you want on top. Or you can leave them plain and enjoy the chocolaty goodness. :)