Rolo Brownie Bites

Rolos are one of my favorite candies. Chocolate and soft caramel? How could you go wrong? These bites are quite simple, but combine some of the best things out there: brownies, Rolos and cream cheese frosting. These would be great if you had leftover Halloween candy, but honestly if I had Rolos left from Halloween, they would be long gone. I had a bag of Rolos at home (they are FINE until I open them!) for another recipe, but decided these would be a much better use of the candies.

My loyal readers know that I love to bake things in mini muffin pans. Makes things look so fancy. This recipe started with a boxed brownie mix or your favorite, so I decided to make my own brownie batter. I found this recipe for fudgy brownies in the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion, which I can always count on to provide a great recipe. Then you stick a Rolo in the baked brownie and top with cream cheese frosting. All simple elements, but I can tell you they are fabulous together.

My batch of brownie batter made 36 brownie bites, but that will vary depending on the batter you make/use. Luckily there are way more than 36 Rolos in the bag so you can eat some while you are baking and you’ll still have enough for the bites. I had to bake the brownies the longer time frame, or they would have just been goo. Brownie goo is tasty, but doesn’t travel well. My frosting was soft so I had to add extra powdered sugar. These are so decadent and I can’t imagine that anyone wouldn’t like them. They are easy and look great, the best of both worlds!

36 Rolo candies

¾ cup butter

2 cups sugar

1 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon vanilla

3 eggs

1 cup flour

4 tablespoons butter, room temperature

4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

2 tablespoons caramel sauce

1-2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease or spray with nonstick cooking spray 36 mini muffin cups.

Unwrap the Rolo candies and place them in the refrigerator while you prepare the brownie bites.

Make the brownies: in a medium saucepan, melt the butter on low heat. Add the sugar and stir to combine. Continue stirring on the heat until the mixture is hot (about 110 degrees). Remove from the heat. Stir in the cocoa, salt, baking powder, and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs, stirring until smooth. Add the flour and then whisk until smooth again.

Fill each mini muffin cup 3/4 full with batter.  Bake for 15-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Remove from oven and immediately press a Rolo, smaller side down, into the center of each brownie bite until the top of the Rolo is even with the top of the brownie bite. 

Allow to cool about 10 minutes before removing from the pan; cool completely on a wire rack. Cool for a couple of minutes then carefully remove the brownie bites from the pan to a cooking rack.

Make the frosting: in a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese together until smooth.  Add the caramel sauce and blend.  Add 1 cup powdered sugar and beat until creamy and smooth.  Add more powdered sugar until the frosting is of the desired consistency. Pipe the frosting on top of the brownie bites. Chill to set the frosting.

Recipe from Cook Lisa Cook

Brownie recipe from King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion