Gem Brownies

I love brownies. Who doesn't? (Maybe the benighted creatures who don't like chocolate...but no one else springs to mind.)

My brownie recipe, which I will not be posting here (sorry, a gal has to have some secrets), is very adaptable. I make "regular" brownies, cranberry brownies, and gluten-free, dairy-free brownies. They're all good.

But there is one drawback; it's difficult to get all of them out of the pan and looking good. Brownies don't have to be pretty, but they shouldn't resemble the dog's dinner.

On Tuesday I went to a little dinner party and wanted to bring something sweet with me. Baking a regular batch of cookies would have taken too long, and I decided to try something different.

This is what I found: one basic brownie recipe will make 40 gem-sized brownies! I lined the gem tin with tiny paper frills (mini cupcake papers) and put about one teaspoon into each. Baked for 25 minutes, turning the pans a few times, and cooled, they were perfect.

Then I iced them with a mixture of milk chocolate and one square of bitter chocolate, with a dash of butter, and topped with colored sprinkles before the chocolate set.

Perfect little bites!

Now I want to make cranberry brownies that way for Christmas, topped with candied cranberries.