Mini Dulce de Leche Brownies

On occasion, I am wary of my own opinion of my food because although I know what I like and don't like, sometimes I wonder if I have such odd tastes or a warped palate that I am the only person who finds my food palatable. It's true that I do enjoy some unusual foods and odd combinations; as far as food goes, I have very few hard-and-fast dislikes.

Now, family and close friends like my food, and often ask me about recipes or for cooking and baking tips. My offers to bring a dish to pass to a potluck are rarely refused, and invitations to dinner at my house are usually greeted with enthusiasm, maybe it's that I always have good booze, though, who knows? However, these people also love me and have some fixed notion in their heads that I am a good cook, so I often wonder if they might not be biased in my favor at the start or if it's like some sort of perception, "Babs is a good cook so this must be Good Food even if it tastes odd."

I brought some of these to work a few weeks ago, and as I may have mentioned, they were gone by lunchtime. One of my co-workers told me, and this is a direct quote in case the 3 people reading this get to accusing me of immodesty, "Those are about the best brownies I've ever had. If there are any left at the end of the day, I'm going to take them home."

I'm not kidding, on the inside, I did a little *squee* of excitement, while on the outside, I was attempting to be all gracious and casual: "Oh, really? I'd be happy to share the recipe if you like."


So, some validation can be a good thing. I guess my palate is NOT cracked. :)

But fear not, lest you think I'm going to get a huge head, I know that taste is subjective. No doubt there are folks out there - namely those who prefer a tall, cakey  brownie - for whom these brownies would NOT be the be-all and end-all.

The rest of you might want to give this recipe a whirl, though.

Mini Dulce de Leche Brownies

Makes 24 miniature brownies

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup All-Purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• pinch of salt
• 4 T salted butter
• 1 T heavy cream
• 5 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 t vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup dulce de leche, store bought or homemade, La Lechera is a good brand

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 and spray your mini brownie pan or mini muffin pan with cooking spray.
2. Mix together the flour, cocoa powder and salt in a small bowl.
3. Put the butter and sugar in the top of a double boiler over simmering water. Once the butter starts to melt, add the cream and chopped chocolate and melt. Stir to keep the mixture from scorching.
4. When the mixture has all melted, remove from heat and let cool. Add the vanilla extract and beaten egg and stir to mix well.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the melted chocolate and stir to make sure it is all well-incorporated.
6. Drop a small teaspoon of the batter into the prepared wells of your brownie pan, then add a teaspoon of the dulce de leche  and swirl it together slightly, then top with more brownie batter.
7. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until done. I always test with a cake tester. I also tend to under cook brownies slightly, so if a few bits of moist brownie are still clinging to my cake tester or toothpick when I test the brownies, that's ok by me.

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