Peppermint Hot Cocoa Brownie Bites
These little brownie bites are SO easy to make and so delicious and festive! I use my favorite brownie recipe and make these in my miniature cupcake tin for bite-sized morsels with rich, fudgy centers and crispy, chewy edges. They get topped with an easy, 3-ingredient chocolate mousse (not actually chocolate mousse since there’s no eggs or gelatin, but I like to make things easy) and sprinkled generously with crushed candy canes. This recipe makes about 20 of these mini ones, or about 8 in a regular cupcake tin.
Ingredients
Brownies
10 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
80g cocoa powder
250g sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract (optional)
2 large eggs at room temperature
65g all-purpose flour
Chocolate Mousse
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream, chilled
1/4 cup cocoa powder, sifted
1/3 cup powdered sugar
Other
2-3 crushed candy canes
Directions
Preheat your oven to 325F and grease a cupcake tin with baking spray or butter and flour, set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together your melted butter, salt, sugar, and cocoa powder until completely incorporated. Let it stand a few minutes until it’s only warm, not hot, to the touch.
Whisk in your eggs, one at a time, until they’re fully incorporated and the batter is glossy. Whisk in your vanilla and peppermint extract.
Sift in the flour and stir vigorously with a spatula or wooden spoon for 1-2 minutes.
Portion out the batter into your cupcake tin and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until just firm to the touch.
Once the brownies are cooked, remove them from the tray and let them cool completely on a cooling rack.
In the meantime, make your mousse. In a medium bowl, whip your heavy cream using an electric mixer for 1-2 minutes, then add your powdered sugar and cocoa powder and continue to whip until you reach stiff peaks. Chill until ready to use.
Once the brownies have cooled, top each one with a dollop of chocolate mousse (you can also spoon the mousse into a bag and pipe it on top for a more detailed look) and a generous sprinkle of crushed candy canes. Enjoy!