4th July Firecracker Brownie Bites (Print Version)

Fudgy brownie bites finished with creamy frosting and red, white, and blue sprinkles for a festive treat.

# What You'll Need:

→ Brownie Bites

01 - 1/2 cup unsalted butter
02 - 1 cup granulated sugar
03 - 2 large eggs
04 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
05 - 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
06 - 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
07 - 1/4 teaspoon salt
08 - 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

→ Frosting

09 - 4 oz cream cheese, softened
10 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
11 - 1 cup powdered sugar
12 - 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
13 - 1 to 2 tablespoons milk

→ Decoration

14 - Red, white, and blue sprinkles
15 - Mini sparkler toppers or festive toothpicks

# How to Make:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 24-cup mini muffin pan or line with mini paper liners.
02 - In a microwave-safe bowl, melt butter. Stir in sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract until smooth.
03 - Add cocoa powder, flour, salt, and baking powder. Stir just until combined without overmixing.
04 - Spoon batter evenly into prepared mini muffin cups, filling each approximately 3/4 full.
05 - Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.
06 - Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
07 - Beat cream cheese and butter together until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar and vanilla, then beat until fluffy. Add milk as needed for spreadable consistency.
08 - Once brownies are completely cool, pipe or spread a dollop of frosting on each bite.
09 - Top each frosted brownie bite with red, white, and blue sprinkles. Add mini sparklers or festive picks if desired.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • They're small enough to eat with your hands while holding a sparkler, which feels like the entire point.
  • The contrast between dense, dark chocolate and sweet, tangy cream cheese frosting hits different on a summer evening.
  • You can prep these the night before and decorate them right before guests arrive, which saves the kind of stress that ruins holiday cooking.
02 -
  • Don't bake them past 15 minutes or they'll dry out, even though they look like they might need more time when you open the oven.
  • Cream cheese frosting needs to be completely cool or it'll melt off the warm brownies like it never happened.
03 -
  • Room temperature ingredients mix together more smoothly, so pull the butter and cream cheese out an hour before you start.
  • A mini ice cream scoop is the secret to filling each muffin cup with exactly the same amount of batter every time.
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