Hot Chocolate & Marshmallow Brownies

It’s officially December, which means hot chocolate, gingerbread cookies, and decorations! Growing up, the best part of the holiday season was the build up. My mom found the most interesting Christmas markets to go to and we always made sure to see Christmas lights. Last weekend, Troy and I headed to Old Town Alexandria to chase this same holiday spirit! Each year, they have a boat parade which lights up the Potomac with holiday scenes. We explored the Torpedo Factory, Santa waved at me, and I could smell the hot chocolate in the air. Which brings me to today’s post, hot chocolate and marshmallow brownies!

There’s nothing more comforting than curling up with a sweet treat and a steaming cup of hot chocolate to wash it down. This craving consumed me, so I set out to make marshmallow brownies. Things got interesting when I found I didn’t have cocoa, and honestly I was not in the mood to go out and get some. So, let the experimenting begin! I didn’t want to make a ton in case they didn’t turn out, so that’s what these measurements are based on. Feel free to scale. 

My recipe is inspired by another blogger’s brownies. I read this recipe from Your Homebased Mom. Guys, her brownies look insanely delicious so someday I will actually go to the store to have the ingredients make these correctly. Until then, hot chocolate it is!

Ingredients
Hot chocolate packet
1/2 cup butter
~1/2 cup sugar (maybe a little less since the hot chocolate packet will also have sugar)
2 Eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
Marshmallows
Salt

Cream the butter with sugar and a hot chocolate packet. Your butter should be room temperature to do this, so set it out a little bit before you get started. Mine isn’t room temperature, but I have a small trick up my sleeve. Did you know you can grate cold butter to help with the cream process? Don’t let it melt, but it works like a charm! Add the eggs one at a time, stirring after each. Mix in the flour, salt, and vanilla then of course you must taste it.

Grease the pan you’ll use and bake them at 350° for about 10 minutes. Then take them out and add the marshmallows on top. If you have mini ones, those might work better, but I used normal size and tore them in half. Continue baking for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until it passes the toothpick test.

Any mouthwatering brownie has some type of tantalizing icing on top. Remember, I’m short on supplies for this endeavor, so of course I don’t have any powdered sugar. Knowing I have no way to make a fudgy icing, I’m just going to try doing something with what I have.

Not to fear, apparently you can make icing with milk, flour, and sugar! Here goes:

Icing on top
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp flour
1 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

Cream the butter, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl. Grab a small saucepan and whisk together the milk and flour. Continue stirring until it boils and becomes thick. Cool completely. Then, add the milk mixture with the creamed butter and mix until it resembles whipped cream. 

I love this quick icing recipe; unfortunately mine didn’t turn out as amazingly as I pictured. I didn’t have a full cup of sugar, so I had to try and adjust the milk and flour to match that. However, even though it didn’t look the prettiest, it did the trick!

The holiday season brings out the best baking creations. Don’t forget to share yours using #MyStyleFoods and maybe you’ll be featured on my Instagram!