Strawberry-Covered Milk Chocolate Brownies

Confession: Last week,  I spent a small fortune on steaks. It all happened so fast, that I was too surprised and embarrassed to say anything. I simply said "thank you", checked out, and walked very slowly to my car.

I've heard that people can die from shock...I felt dangerously close to that edge.

It all started with me being incredibly excited about the warm weather. I wanted to celebrate it...with food. Normal reaction. And what better way to celebrate spring's arrival than to grill out for dinner? While, I'm typically a veggie and fish on the grill girl, I had noticed a sign announcing that NY strip steaks were on sale at one of my grocery stores and knew Boyfriend would be thrilled.

Second confession: I've never bought steak before.



Looking back, I probably assumed too many things, like: Certainly each steak will weigh less than a pound, actually probably only 6 ounces...Surely this meat counter man will advise me on whether 4 steaks are too many or too little for my group...And there's no way that this will cost more than $30; that's my normal weekly grocery store total.

Making purchases while ignorant, excited, and in love should be illegal.

The slightly frustrating situation was diffused by me whipping up these brownies as dessert. Not a big fan of actual chocolate-covered strawberries (or cold chocolate in general), I found that these brownies combined the two flavors into something to be a bit more cohesive. The brownies are adapted from my favorite recipe. I simply substituted in some milk chocolate for the semi-sweet, and tweaked the amount of the sugar to reflect that change.

The icing, however, is my favorite part. Made from real strawberries, it's smooth, almost fluffy, and reminiscent of strawberry soft-serve. It's a celebration of spring.



Happy ending: the steaks turned out every bit as delicious as their price tag indicated. But, moving forward, I'd much prefer to stick to what I know...like buying strawberries and baking :)

Strawberry-Covered 

Milk Chocolate Brownies

Brownies Adapted from Brown-Eyed Baker (The Baked Brownie)

Servings: 16

Milk Chocolate Brownies 
4 ounces milk chocolate
1 ounce dark chocolate
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup, plus 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon baking powder

Strawberry Frosting
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup strawberry puree
2-2 1/3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon half-and-half

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper so that it slightly overhangs on all edges.

• In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, melt butter and chocolates. Remove from heat and stir in sugar until combined. Add eggs and vanilla. 

• Next, mix in cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Finally add flour, stirring until just combined (taking care not to over-mix). Pour batter into prepared baking pan and bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean with a few crumbs. Allow to cool to room temperature

•  To make frosting, use a handheld mixer to beat together butter, vanilla, strawberry puree, and 1/2 cup sugar. Once combined, gradually add 1/2 cup more sugar, followed by half-and-half. Slowly add in more sugar until desired consistency is reached. Frosting should be spreadable and slightly looser than typical buttercream frosting.

• Frost cooled pan of brownies and refrigerate for about 1 hour before cutting, which will allow the frosting to firm up some. Frosting is very soft, so brownies should be stored in the fridge until ready to consume.