Warning: tech talk coming… feel free to skip ahead to the brownies.
The big talk around town (that is, the town known as the food blogosphere) is how the Ziplist recipe plugin isn’t compatible with the new WordPress 3.9 update. I woke up one morning last week to discover that, because I had updated my WordPress, I was now unable to create a new post on my blog, along with hundreds of other food bloggers who also use Ziplist and WordPress, due to an unforeseen snafu that is completely outside of our control. The timing of all this was unfortunate, as Easter weekend is one of the biggest weekends of the year for food bloggers. Instead of new Easter recipes being posted right and left, many sites fell oddly silent, unable to post even an announcement saying they couldn’t post new recipes. Although Ziplist was quick to begin working on a fix, no permanent solution was found before the holiday weekend. Please understand that I’m not complaining, just stating the facts. I am a loyal fan of both WordPress and Ziplist and both are invaluable to me as a blogger.
Although I had planned to post this incredible Toasted Coconut Frosted Brownies recipe prior to Easter along with at least one other recipe, I sat back and patiently waited for the backend of my site to begin working again. I figured that you, my amazing readers, will still love these brownies regardless of whether they popped up before or after Easter. Thank you for that, by the way. You’re the bestest.
Delightfully fudgy brownies smeared with coconut cream cheese frosting and topped with crisp, golden toasted coconut. Once they were assembled, I popped them into the freezer for about an hour before slicing, to achieve perfect square cuts. I discovered, to my absolute shock, that I thoroughly enjoy these brownies chilled (I’m a die hard warm, gooey brownie kind of girl, usually). Once I sliced them, I kept them cold in the fridge and enjoyed them throughout the Easter weekend.
Toasted Coconut Frosted Brownies
Delightfully fudgy brownies smeared with coconut cream cheese frosting and topped with crisp, golden toasted coconut. Brownies adapted from [Recipe Girl|http://www.recipegirl.com/2013/11/11/fudgy-frosted-brownies/].
Yields: 24 brownies
- For the Brownies:
- 2/3 cup salted butter, melted
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon coconut extract
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 1/3 cups flour
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa (I used Dutch processed)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup brewed coffee (or water)
- For the Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting:
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ½ teaspoon coconut extract
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- For Topping:
- ¾ cup toasted shredded coconut
To make the brownies: Preheat oven to 350. Line a 9x13 pan with aluminum foil, allowing enough foil to hang over the sides of the pan (you will use this later to lift the chilled brownies out of the pan to slice). Spray the foil with non-stick cooking spray.
To a mixing bowl, add the butter, eggs, extracts, and sugar. Whisk until smooth. In another bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until incorporated. Pour in the coffee (or water) and mix until it all comes together as a fudgy batter. Spread the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until just set in the center. Be careful not to over bake; you want these to be fudgy. Cool the brownies on a wire rack. Place the pan into the freezer to chill while you make the frosting.
For the frosting: To the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter, cream cheese, and extracts. Beat until smooth. Gradually add the powdered sugar, beating on low speed, until incorporated, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Remove the brownies from the freezer and spread evenly with the frosting. Sprinkle the top of the frosted brownies with toasted coconut. Return the pan to the freezer for at least an hour before lifting the brownies out of the pan and slicing into squares with a long, sharp knife. Keep brownies in an airtight container in the refrigerator.