Pioneer Woman's Mocha Brownies

For our cookout this weekend, I made the Pioneer Woman's Mocha Brownies. They were so easy to make, very rich, but very good. I loved the actual brownies. The mocha icing was good, but almost a little too rich and sweet for me. I think the brownies would be great with some ice cream and some hot fudge syrup. I highly recommend you try this recipe, and I will for sure make it again sometime.

One tip, slowly mix in the coffee. I put all of it in at once, and my icing turned out really runny. I would add in a little at a time, or else you will have to add more powdered sugar. I had to add a ton of powdered sugar to thicken up my icing, and that might have been why my icing was a little too sweet. It does thicken up a little when you put it in the fridge, so that did help out a lot.

Pioneer Woman's Mocha Brownines

Brownies:
4 1-oz. squares unsweetened chocolate
1/2 lb. (2 sticks) butter
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
3 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Mae’s Mocha Icing:
1/2 lb. (2 sticks) butter, softened
5 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp. salt
3 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 to 3/4 cup fresh-brewed coffee, cooled to room temperature

For brownies:
Preheat the oven to 325º F. Spray an 8-inch square baking pan with nonstick baking spray.

To make the brownie batter, place the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30-second increments, being careful not to let it burn. Set it aside to cool slightly.

In a medium mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs. With the mixer on low speed, drizzle in the melted chocolate. Add the vanilla extract and mix. Add the flour to the bowl and mix just until combined; do not over mix. Pour the batter in the baking pan. Spread it to even out the surface. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the center is no longer soft. Set the brownies aside to cool completely before icing.

For icing:
In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, salt and vanilla. Mix until slightly combined, then add 1/2 cup of the brewed coffee. Whip until the icing is the desired consistency. If the icing is overly thick, add 1/4 cup more coffee. It should be very light and fluffy.

Ice the cooled brownies, spreading the icing on thick. Refrigerate until the icing is firm, and then slice the brownies into squares.