Festive Red Velvet Brownie Balls: Keeping it real

Sometimes mistakes are just meant to be. That is exactly how these festive Red Velvet Brownie Balls were born…

But here’s what I was actually trying to make:

                                                   Photo courtesy of worthpinning.com

When I saw these adorable Red Velvet Brownie Christmas Trees a few years back, I just had to make them!

Sadly, they were not meant to be. Actually, they were a bit of a disaster. Although I am an experienced baker, I mess things up too. It tends to happen when I’m distracted, hurried or stressed/trying to do too much at once!

So…not wanting to waste them, I morphed them into a new Christmas Tradition. Now Christmas just isn’t Christmas without these little guys. So, I keep making them “wrong,” -the same way I did the first time I screwed them up. The funny thing is, I still don’t know why they didn’t turn out and I no longer care.

KEEPING IT REAL:

And as you can see…they are not perfect. Nor are they symmetrical. They have lumps and bumps.

I really considered making more better, nicer, rounder ones for this photo. But then it occurred to me that you’d only be disappointed if yours didn’t turn out like that. Because they probably won’t. They are brownies, not cake and there is a difference. Brownie crumb is coarser and therefore does not form into as smooth a ball as cake does. And they pretty much always look like this.

Oh, sure, I could have spent a lot more time forming and shaping them so they would look better for the photo, but life is short! And they still taste amazing! So, here they are… in all their real, lumpy & bumpy glory.

They are not Pinterest real. They are real world real.

So why not add these real, cute and tasty little Red Velvet Brownie Balls to your last minute Christmas baking list? You can even substitute a box of red velvet brownie mix for all those ingredients to make it quicker and easier. Honestly,  I would have done the same if the store wasn’t out of them! Although, the homemade is much tastier.

Happy holidays/Merry Christmas/Happy New Years! 

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Red Velvet Brownie Balls

These festive and delicious Red Velvet Brownie Balls can be made from scratch or with a red velvet brownie mix. They are the perfect festive addition to your holiday baking tray!

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine North American

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Servings 20 brownie balls

Author Adpated from Jillian Leslie's Red Velvet Christmas Tree Brownie Recipe @ Catchmyparty.com

Ingredients

• 1 cup salted butter
• 3 large eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 semi-sweet cup chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 tbsp red food coloring use no- taste red- I buy Wilton brand at Michaels Arts & Crafts
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• OR: SUBSTITUTE 'RED VELVET BROWNIE MIX' FOR THE ABOVE INGREDIENTS
• 3/4 cup  chocolate icing I use store-bought Betty Crocker whipped chocolate icing
• 1-2   packages of candy melts- color of your choice. I use white and chocolate . I buy these at Michael's Arts & Crafts 12 oz/340g, I use Wilton brand
• 4 tsp vegetable shortening

Garnish:

• sprinkles/sparkling sugar of your choice

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9"x 13" pan with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Pour in a medium mixing bowl. Whisk 3 eggs in another medium mixing bowl.
3. Add the sugar, vanilla extract & cocoa powder to the melted butter and combine.
4. Melt the 1/2 cup of chocolate chips in a saucepan and add to the sugar mixture. Add the whisked eggs to the sugar mixture and then the flour  Add red food colouring. Add batter to prepared pan. *If using a box mix, bake as per package directions
5. Bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 40 minutes until middle is set (and tester comes out clean and the edges are have separated from the pan.) Let the brownies cool and remove from pan and break into pieces.
6. Turn to crumb into your food processor or by hand (but needs to be a fine crumb).
7. Mix together with icing  then form into balls  (about 1 1/2 ") and place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and refrigerate for about 10 minutes. You will really have to compress the balls to get them to stick. Add more icing as needed.
8. Meanwhile, melt candy melts on low in pot on stovetop with shortening, stirring frequently. OR you can melt in microwave on 1/2 power (5 on my microwave). Heat up again as it begins to set, as necessary. ***Be careful not to get melted candy melts anywhere near water or overcook because the candy melts will seize.

9. Dip brownie balls in melted candy melts. I use a technique similar to video in notes (see video in notes- How to coat a brownie ball in candy melts)

10. Sprinkle on sparkling sugar or other decorations before they harden. Then refrigerate for a few minutes if you want them to harden quickly.

Recipe Notes

Note: Video -  How to coat a brownie ball

 

Adapted from Red Velvet Christmas Tree Brownie Recipe

 

Note: reduce the time by 20 minutes if you are using a box red velvet brownie mix

 If you like this recipe, please PIN IT and KEEP IT REAL!