Happy Birthday Brownie Pie Recipe!

Hello!

There were a million reasons to make something yummy today, but then it started snowing!  So the oven heating up the kitchen didn't hurt, either :)

Like I mentioned yesterday, I won the Birchbox Book Club book this month, Homemade Decadence.  It is such an adorable cook book and the pictures make me want to make (and eat!) every single thing in it!  Since I got it in the mail the day after my birthday, I thought it would be fun to make the Happy Birthday Brownie Pie for my first recipe!



We haven't tasted it yet (I just finished making it, plus Alex isn't home from school), but our apartment smells sooo good.

Here is Joy Wilson's recipe, exactly as it is in the book (the parentheses after things are my notes/changes):

Happy Birthday Brownie Pie

Ingredients:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs
3 tsp pure vanilla extract (2 are for the pie, 1 is for whipped cream)
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips (we had semisweet so that's what I used)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional) (I used them!)
1 cup heavy cream (this is also for the whipped cream, which I didn't make)
2 tbsp confectioners' sugar (this, too)
1 quart mint chocolate chip ice cream (I got vanilla ice cream)
Rainbow sprinkles
Birthday candles

Directions:
1) Put a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 F.  Grease and flour a 9-inch round pie dish.
2) In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
3) In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, melted butter, eggs, and 2 teaspoons of vanilla.  Add the dry ingredients and fold together with a spoon.  Fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts, if using.  Pour the batter into the prepared pie dish.
4) Bake until the top looks dry and a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs, 20 to 22 minutes.  Let cool.
(This is where I stopped)
5) Meanwhile, for the whipped cream, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the cream with the confectioners' sugar and remaining 1 teaspoon of vanilla until in holds soft peaks, about 4 minutes.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.
6) Scoop the ice cream into the center of the brownie.  Freeze for at least 30 minutes, or until ready to serve. (We'll probably do this part!!)
7) To serve, spread the whipped cream over the brownie ice cream pie, sprinkle generously with rainbow sprinkles, and insert birthday candles.  Light the candles and sing loudly.
8) The brownies can be made up to two days in advance.

Makes one 9-inch pie

We won't get to try this until later tonight, but I'll add an updated section underneath this so I can tell you how yummy it is!!  I am so excited to make more of her recipes, too!  Here is Joy's blog, Joy the Baker.

I'm going to a special, super fun-sounding holiday class at Pop Physique tonight!  It involves tutus, so I'm excited :)

Thanks for reading!

**Update**

We just tried the brownies with vanilla bean ice cream and sprinkles...they're so yummy!!



I cut the pie into eight slices so I would say this recipe makes eight servings :)