French Silk Brownies Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray.
• Make brownie batter as directed on box. Stir in 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Spread in pan. Bake 22 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted 2 inches from side of pan comes out almost clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
• In large bowl, beat Filling ingredients with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl frequently. Spread evenly over brownies. Refrigerate about 2 hours or until set.
• When ready to serve, cut brownies into 6 rows by 4 rows. In chilled medium bowl, beat 1 cup whipping cream with electric mixer on medium-high speed until slightly thickened. Reduce speed; beat in 3 tablespoons powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Increase speed; beat mixture until stiff peaks form.
• Spoon whipped cream into decorating bag fitted with 1/2-inch star piping tip. In center of each brownie, apply steady pressure to bag while squeezing, and pipe in tight circle to make rosette flower about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Stop squeezing, and quickly lift bag off. Garnish rosettes with chocolate chips. Store loosely covered in refrigerator.

Steps:

• For the crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Crush the crackers in a food processor or resealable bag. Pour them into a bowl and stir in the melted butter and sugar. Press into a pie pan and bake until golden and set, 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly.
• For the filling: In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt the baking chocolate until stirrable (about 45 seconds on high). Set aside to cool.
• It is important for the bowl and ingredients to be cold for the next stage of making the filling--to get the right texture and result. In a large chilled bowl with an electric mixer, beat the sugar and butter until fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes.
• When the melted chocolate is cooled, drizzle it over the butter/sugar mixture. Add the vanilla extract. Beat the mixture thoroughly until combined (on a stand mixer, you will be using the whisk attachment).
• Turn your mixer to a medium speed and over a period of 15 to 20 minutes, add in the 4 cold eggs, one at a time, leaving about 5 minutes between each egg addition. Once the pie filling is well mixed, pour it into the baked pie shell, scraping every last speck of it out of the bowl. Smooth out the pie filling and place the pie in the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours (preferably longer).
• For the topping: Add the heavy cream and sugar to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whip until it is stiff. Cover the pies with a thick layer of cream. Grate the semisweet chocolate over the top.

Steps:

• 1. You can make a box brownie mix according to package directions, or make my favorite brownie recipe as directed in step 2. Let them cool completely. It's probably easiest to make these straight in the pan without foil, or use parchment instead for ease of cutting. 2. To make my brownie recipe: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9x13" pan with foil or parchment and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Place baking chocolates and butter in a large microwave safe bowl. Heat in 30 second increments, stirring between each, until melted and smooth (about 2 minutes depending on your microwave). Stir sugar into chocolate mixture, then stir in eggs until well mixed. Add the vanilla, cocoa, and salt and stir until smooth, then carefully stir in the flour. Pour batter into the pan and bake for about 20-25 minutes until a toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs an inch from the side of the pan. I like to make these a little underdone so they stay fudgy and rich. 3. Melt chocolate in a large microwave safe bowl for 30 seconds, then stir, heat for 30 seconds again, then stir well, then heat on 10 second increments, stirring between each, until smooth. Let cool 5 minutes. 4. Beat cream cheese in a large bowl with a hand mixer until smooth. Add chocolate and mix until combined, then mix in vanilla. Fold in half of the Cool Whip (one 8 ounce container). 5. Spread the chocolate mixture on top of the brownies, then top with second container of Cool Whip. Use a potato peeler to shave some additional baking chocolate all over the top. 6. Chill for at least one hour before serving to allow it to set. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Notes: You'll want about 2 cups of heavy whipping cream beaten to stiff peaks if you want to use fresh whipped cream.