Tuesday, March 6, 2018

Red Wine Brownies with Icing

While not visually impressive, these red wine brownies made with an easy home-made mix taste ethereal and will delight any chocolate - or red wine - lover!

Red Wine Brownies

If you read yesterday's post, you know my family' love for brownies and my quest for a quick and easy homemade brownie mix to rival the boxes out there. The mix makes dense, chewy and chocolatey plain brownies on it's own, but since we're coming up to the first major birthday circuit of the year I wanted to try something a little more frou-frou with it - and adding red wine to anything is an automatic plus in these parts! Oddly enough, I always seem to have a bottle of red around, even though I don't drink - one of the perks (?) of being a teacher is that at least once a year a decent bottle of wine falls into your possession as a thank you gift! This time, I broke into a nice Chianti (no, not Hannibal style...) for both the brownies themselves as well as the icing, and the flavour, while subtle, added just enough "grown up" flair to earn a position on the dessert table.

Icing, you say? What icing? OK, you got me there - I swear I took photos of these brownies fully iced and decorated, gorgeous in their glossy glory. However, my relationship with technology (in particular, computers) lately has been nothing if not problematic (I spent most of January and half of February on a borrowed laptop after the hard dive, followed by the motherboard, on mine crashed) and the transition between camera and computer seems to have some gremlins in the works. I would say voles, but they're busy chewing up our yard at the moment and don't have time for wires. In any case, all I have is a shot of the corner of these bars, where you can just see a hint of the redness shining through. The icing is dark and rich, as chocolate should be, and carries more of the fruity notes of the wine than the tannins - a major plus.

You may notice the entire recipe is vegan (check your wine if you're not sure, all ours are), which definitely makes it a crowd pleaser! The visual appearance of the brownies unadorned won't make your jaw drop, but that's what icing is for. It worked for Little Debbie, it can work for me! Of course, if the glossy, boil-and-pour icing isn't your thing, a fudge, cream cheese or even peanut butter frosting would be awesome on these. Too much? Dust with a little icing sugar and munch on!

Red Wine Brownies with Icing
Makes 16 dainty brownies
1 batch Homemade Brownie Mix
1/2 cup canola oil
2.4 fl oz dry red wine (I used a Chianti)
1/2 tbsp vanilla
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Icing:
1/2 cup sugar
3 tbsp dry red wine (the same kind used in the brownies)
2 tbsp cocoa
2 tbsp non-hydrogenated shortening
1 tbsp vegan butter
1 tsp vanilla
  1. Heat the oven to 350 and grease an 8" square pan.
  2. Combine the brownie mix, oil, wine and vanilla until just combined.
  3. Pour into the pan, smooth the top and bake for 25-30 minutes, until firm. Cool 30 minutes.
Icing:
  1. Place the sugar, wine, cocoa, and shortening into a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Once the mixture is boiling, continue cooking and stirring for 1 minute.
  2. Remove from heat, and add vegan butter and vanilla.
  3. Beat with a whisk until thick, then immediately pour over the cooled brownies and spread until smooth.
  4. Cool completely.
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 205.9
Total Fat: 9.5 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 81.4 mg
Total Carbs: 30.6 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.5 g
Protein: 1.8 g

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