Brownie Bites

Ladies, apparently this is dessert day Chez Wells, but if that's the way it is, that's just the way it is.

These Brownie Bites are the perfect recipe to have on hand because the ingredients are all refrigerator and pantry staples, and they are infinitely variable.  I adapted Nedra Bunker's delicious brownie recipe to have a little more butter and cocoa and a little less flour to make them work better in a mini muffin tin.

Brownie Bites
1 stick unsalted butter  (I've also used 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup canola, and it's nearly as delicious)
4 tbsp. cocoa powder (I heap the tablespoons a little to make it extra chocolatey)
1-1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs (but I've used 2 in a pinch--still okay)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup flour (a scant cup, not a heaping cup)

Melt butter and cocoa together in a small glass bowl.  Mix sugar, eggs and vanilla together in a larger bowl, and add cocoa mixture.  Add salt and mix well.  Add flour and again mix well.
Put mini muffin liners in the mini muffin pan.  Pour batter into a quart-size ziploc freezer bag, emptying out the excess air, and sealing it securely.  Cut off 1/2 inch of the corner of the bag and squeeze the batter into the muffin liners, filling 3/4 full.  (It helps to bunch up the freezer bag just under the zip part, to take the pressure off the zipper.  Otherwise, sometimes the bag pops open and you have brownie batter all over your hands.  Delicious, but messy.)  Bake at 350 for 18 minutes.  Remove immediately from tin and place on wire cooling rack.

Variations:
Candy Bites:  Put cut up candy bars in the muffin liners first, pouring the batter on top.  Rolos work amazing well.
BYU in miniature:  Top with the mint frosting from BYU's mint brownies.  (I put the frosting in another ziploc bag, cut off the corner, and make a cute little swirl.)
Peanut Butter:  Melt 1/3 cup peanut butter in the microwave.  Dollop 2 tsp on top of each brownie bite before baking, and swirl with a toothpick.  Bake as usual.

These are always a hit, and very very easy.