Brownie Bites

A dear co-worker and friend celebrated a birthday last week.  The sad part about that is that her birthday was actually over two weeks ago; we just had not had a chance to get together and celebrate until last week... which is just plain sad! 

But, we were finally able to break away from work for a bit on Friday, and end the week with a little birthday celebration!  And in my book, no birthday celebration is complete without some kind of sweet birthday treat. 

For this occasion, I chose these brownie bites.  Factors leading to my decision were as follows:
1)  The ease of the brownie bite making method  (: 
2)  The speed of the brownie bite making process
3)  The durability of the brownie bite (aka:  You can save them for a long time after you make them)
5)  The cuteness of the brownie bite
4)  The taste of the completed brownie bite... It tastes awesome whether you have it an hour after you make it or a week after you make it! 

To make these, you will need:
1 boxed brownie mix, and the ingredients called for per the back of the box
1 package of candy coating, the flavor of your choosing (I chose white chocolate.) 

-Bake the brownies as the package directs. 
-Then, after they cool for a bit, crumble the brownie up in a bowl.... Just kind of mush the brownie up.  -At this point, I put the bowl of mushed brownie in the refrigerator to help it cool. 
-Once it has firmed up a bit, form the brownies into balls.  I make mine pretty small, so that there is plenty of white chocolate coating per bite of brownie.
-After the balls are formed, I put the lollipop sticks in them, and used the sticks as a handle for dipping.
-Melt the candy coating using the heating method on the back of the package (usually the package instructs you to heat the coating for one minute, stir, and then continue heating in 15 second intervals until the coating is completely melted)
-When the coating is melted, dip the brownie bites into the coating, one bite at a time. 
-Let the brownie bites harden completely. 
-I think they are best when served chilled, and so I store them in the refrigerator.  If I have LOTS of them, I put a few in the refrigerator, and store the rest in a sealed container in the freezer.  

The advantage of brownie bites versus cake balls is that brownie balls are MUCH easier and faster to make.  That being said, I have to admit that I like the taste and texture of cake balls better.  They may be worth the bit of extra time and effort.  Cake balls are moister, and sweeter!  So they still trump brownie bites in my book.  But these are definitely worth a shot!