October 26, 2017

Death By Chocolate Skillet Brownies, For Two

Confession time? I’m actually not that into Halloween.

Now before you freak out, relax! As a sensible human I obviously LOVE pumpkins, candy, scary movies, and imagining a world with witches. But actual Halloween? No. The dressing up, the traffic, the god forsaken village parade? It’s a nightmare, literally.

Given these feelings, it’s no surprise that WRY is currently devoid of Halloween recipes. But since I spent the bulk of October collecting gourds, watching my fav flicks — the craft, what lies beneath, practical magic –, and rocking dark nail polish (currently Essie midnight cami!), I’m feeling in the spirit.

So, let’s get to it.

The beauty of these death by chocolate skillet brownies is that they’re literally the easiest dessert ever. Prepped in just 10 minutes, these can be made whenever, why ever you want them, so consider this hangover-proof food.

You start by making a basic brownie batter (just 7 ingredients!) then spreading half of it between two mini cast iron skillets. Top with dollops of fudge sauce + drizzles of caramel, then cover with the remaining batter. This layering process can be admittedly messy, but don’t stress! With just a touch of patience this easily smooths out evenly.

Now to be clear, I did use store-bought fudge and caramel here, so feel free to give me shit. I realize that YES, this is a somewhat hypocritical from the chick who is constantly bitching about from-scratch everything. But a recipe this easy demands shortcuts, and for once I didn’t want to be difficult. So let’s all be cool, okay?

What I like about baking these in a cast iron skillet is that it creates an extra crispy outside while maintaining a gooey, fudgy inside. It’s the best of both worlds, basically, so definitely try to use cast iron. As expected the taste here is luscious, decadent, and of course? Deadly. And if you serve this with a cool scoop of vanilla, I won’t be mad at ya.

Lastly! If you make this on the 31st, definitely add some chopped candy to the mix (YES). And for a skinny version, simply replace the butter with full-fat vanilla greek yogurt!

This recipe shows you how. xo

Death By Chocolate Skillet Brownies

Yield: 2 brownies

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 25 - 28 mins

Total Time: 38 minutes

Print Recipe

Ingredients:

1/4 cup all purpose flour, sifted
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup salted butter, melted
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
6 oz hot fudge sauce + more for topping
2 oz caramel sauce
shortening to grease

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350F. Lightly grease two 3 1/2″ or one 6-8″ cast iron skillets with shortening. Even though cast iron is naturally seasoned, I like to lightly grease it when I’m baking for extra assurance. And if you only have an oven-proof skillet, make sure you grease it generously!
In a small mixing bowl combine the flour, cocoa powder, and salt, whisking until combined. In another, medium-sized mixing bowl combine the butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla, whisking vigorously until smooth. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet, stirring until the batter takes shape. The batter will be thick, which is exactly what you want.
Spread approximately half the batter along the bottom of your greased skillet(s), using a spatula to spread to the edges as evenly as possible. Dollop the fudge sauce and caramel sauce on top, again using a spatula to spread evenly. Lastly cover with the remaining batter — Spreading this top layer can be annoying, but just do your best! As long as the fudge/caramel is almost completely covered, you’re good.
Bake the brownies on oven middle rack for 25 – 28 minutes until the brownies are just cooked but not overdone. Eat immediately, serving with additional fudge sauce on top.