Adorable Santa Hat Brownie Cookie Cups that are perfect for the holiday season. Easy to make, gluten free and so fudgy! This recipe is in partnership with ALDI.
1/2tablespoonmelted and cooled Simply Nature Organic Coconut Oil
⅓cupSpecially Selected 100% Pure Maple Syrup
¼cupcoconut sugar (or can use brown sugar)
1teaspoonvanilla extract
2eggs
⅓cupunsweetened cocoa powder
1/2tablespooncoconut flour (regular flour or GF flour will also work)
½teaspoonbaking soda
⅛teaspoonsalt
¼cupmini chocolate chips, dairy free if desired
For the frosting:
¼cupsoftened butter or vegan butter
1cuppowdered sugar
½teaspoonvanilla extract
2-4teaspoonsFriendly Farms Organic Almond Milk or Friendly Farms Original Coconut Milk (any milk will work)
For the topping
22strawberries, stems cut off
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a mini muffin pan with 22 mini muffin liners. Spray the inside of the liners with nonstick cooking spray to prevent sticking.
In a large bowl, combine the almond butter, coconut oil, maple syrup, coconut sugar, vanilla extract and eggs until smooth and well combined. Gently fold in cocoa powder, coconut flour, baking soda and salt until batter is smooth. Fold in 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips into the batter. This batter should be rather thick.
Fill each muffin liner ¾ of the way full with batter. Tap the bottom of the pan on a hard surface just a few times to even out the batter. Bake for 13-18 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. Don't overbake!
After brownies have cooled, make the frosting: add the softened butter, powdered sugar, 2 teaspoons milk and vanilla to a large bowl of an electric mixer. Beat for 1-2 minutes until fluffy, adding a teaspoon or two of milk if necessary.
Place frosting in a ziplock bag and snip off the corner end. Swirl the frosting on top of the brownie and place strawberry on top. Place a little dot of frosting on top of the santa hat to complete.
Makes approximately 22 santa hat brownie bites. Store in the fridge after topping with a strawberry, or leave off the strawberries until ready to serve (I recommend the latter). You can also skip the strawberries and use fun holiday sprinkles instead. Enjoy!