Cooking with PW

I am sure you know about the Pioneer Woman. Well, we are hooked! I have made probably about 6-8 of her recipes. my hubby and I like her so much I bought him her cookbook for his b-day.
Last Thursday we had our pastor and his family over (they are leaving :( :( ) I made this dessert for them and wanted to share this one with you.

Mocha Brownies
makes 16 (very rich) servings

Disclaimer, I tried taking photos of just about each step, but I think you'll get the idea. These are very good and rich. I would half my piece and then come back later to finish. Well worth the sugar rush and the crash afterward! Most of the following is from PW's cookbook. Italicized words are mine.

Brownies
four 1-ounce squares unsweetened chocolate
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter (watch out Paula Deen)
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
**1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Mae's Mocha Icing
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, softened
5 cups powered sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 to 3/4 cup brewed coffee (I used the strong brew setting for this), cooled to room temp

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray an 8-inch square baking pan with nonstick spray.

2. To make brownie batter, place the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. I melted mine in a small sauce pan.

3. Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30-second increments, being careful not to let it burn. Set it aside and let id cool slightly.

4. In a medium mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs.

5. With the mixer on low speed (I just used the whisk.) drizzle in the melted chocolate. Add the vanilla extract and mix.

6. Add the flour to the bowl and mix until combined; do not over mix.

7. Pour the batter in the baking pan. (I forgot this photo!)

8. Spread it to even out the surface. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until center is no longer soft. (This one too.)

9. Set the brownies aside to cool completely before icing. (**Note: I used self-rising flour. So I think that is why the edges are so high. The center took much longer to cook. Then it sank when cooled. PW's did NOT look like this!)

10. To make the icing, in a large mixing bowl, combine the butter, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, salt and vanilla.

11. Mix until lightly combined, then add 1/2 cup of the coffee.

12. Whip (I did use the electric beater here.) it until the icing is desired consistency. If the icing is overly thick, add 1/4 cup more coffee.

13. It should be very light and fluffy.

14. Ice the cooled brownies, spreading the icing on thick. (It will be very think.) Refrigerate until the icing is firm. Then slice the brownies into squares.

I didn't take any photos of the brownies cut up. I thought PW had these on her blog, but no. If you look close to the photo above you can see her cookbook. In the upper right hand corner there's a photo of her brownies.

Very yummy!