Brownie Sweet Treat for Valentine's Day 2017

You might recall that over the past few years, The Chocolate Cult has teamed up with other bloggers to support a charity called Cookies for Kids' Cancer with a Christmas Cookie Swap... did you notice that we didn't do it in 2016? That wasn't our choice but the decision of the organizers. Instead many of us bloggers are going to do a Annual Good Cookies Food Bloggers’ Valentine’s Event! and today is the day we'll share it with you all! To be part of this I donated $20 to Cookies of Kids' Cancer and agreed to do this post. Corporate sponsors backed our donations and also offered us a few goodies to participate and these businesses included Dixie Crystals, Land O'Lakes, and Mediavine. No other forms of compensation was received in exchange for our participation in this charity. To make our treat I decided to use one of the varieties of Sheila G's Brownie Brittle, the Pretzel and Dark Chocolate Organic, that we were sent in exchange for an honest review; no other form of compensation was received for using their product in this recipe.

Help us make a difference by donating to Cookies for Kids' Cancer! Our goal is to raise at least $3000. Because these three companies: Dixie Crystals, Land O’Lakes and Mediavine have each pledged to match our donations raised through this campaign up to $3000!!!

And if learning more about Sheila G wasn't enough, my creation of and sharing this recipe today is part of a bigger project called Good Cookies Food Bloggers' Valentine's Event which helps support Cookies for Kids' Cancer. You can help us out by sharing this post as well as donating some money here. More cool than this is the fact that Sheila G is a proud part of the Cookies for Kids' Cancer family, too. Now onto the recipe!

Brownie Ice Cream Valentines
by TammyJo Eckhart, PhD

Ingredients:

10 oz Sheila G's Organic Brownie Brittle, Pretzel and Dark Chocolate Variety

1 1/3 Stick Parkay Margarine

1.5 qt Edy's Slow Churned Vanilla Bean Ice Cream







Directions:

1. Measure out parchment paper to line the bottom of the heart shaped pans that you are using. I used two 8.5 inch pans and on5-sectioned pan. This way I could test which was easier to remove the Valentine from.

2. Spray the bottom of the pans with no-stick spray and then apply the parchment paper. Spray the top of the paper as well to make removal as easy as possible. Steps 1 and 2 were challenging because it is hard to get a good measurement for the inside of a pan.



3. Sort through the Brittle Brittle to find the already broken pieces. These will be easier to break up more for the recipe. This takes time and I may have eaten a few pieces while I did it. Here you can what a unbroken piece looks like.

Sheila G Organic Brownie Brittle Pretzel & Dark Chocolate

4. Break up 7.5 ounces of the brittle into the smallest pieces that you can. If you have a food processor, great. If you don't just put the brittle into a bag, seal the bag, and bang away at it with a rolling pin. This can be a great way to let off some frustrations!

5. Melt the margarine and then add the smashed up pieces. Mix it until all of the pieces are coated and can stick together.

6. Press the mixture into the bottom of your pans. This will make either two large heart-shaped pans, a single large and five small heart-shaped pans, or 10 small heart-shaped pans.

7. Smash up the last 2.5 ounces of the brownie brittle.

8. Get out the paddle attachment for a stand alone mixture. Empty the entire container of ice cream and add the last of the brittle crumbs. Mix it all together for no more than 1 minute until smooth but still primarily frozen.

9. Divide the ice cream mixture between your heart-shapes and smooth it out well. Place into a freezer for an hour.

10. Remove from freezer and set on the table or countertop with a plate large enough to hold the treat nearby.

11. Using a sharp knife immediately cut all around the outer edges. Then use that same knife to get under the parchment paper and carefully lift up the tip of the heart. Then using your hands lift the rest of the dessert up, peel off the parchment paper and lay the treat on the plate then refreeze it. You have to work quickly and efficiently because the ice cream will start to melt.

12. When you are ready to serve, put a slice on an individual plate and offer a spoon to eat it with.

The Pretzel and Dark Chocolate variety of Sheila G's Organic Brownie Brittle line has a strong pretzel and salt flavor but the chocolate is evident as well. When you put it in the ice cream or mix it with the melted margarine, that chocolate is dampened down a lot. The resulting treat isn't low calorie; 9 servings (5 mini hearts, 4 pieces of the big one) come in at 340 degrees. If you made this with butter and premium ice cream, it would be at least 50 calories more. It took a good amount of time to make (two hours total) so this isn't a quick offering. But the smiles on my family and friends' faces made it worth it.

While this was a great dessert that the 9 people I shared it with enjoyed a lot, for me, I looked the brittle right out of the bag more because it had a stronger chocolate flavor. But you know I'm biased like that for Chocolate. Have you seen Sheila G's Brownie Brittle around? I see the regular varieties at my local Kroger, Marsh, and Target stores but this Pretzel and Dark Chocolate variety from the Organic line I have only seen online so far. Go ahead, check it out. Try it. Then leave a comment and let us (and Sheila) know what you think.