Sleepover extreme

Golly gee, what an exciting few days! We whizzed right through Kansas Day on Thursday, the Grand Opening of the Donut Whole Friday, Sleepover Saturday and skipped into Superbowl Sunday. In-between major social appearances, Raymond and I squeezed in little events - visiting a friend in the hospital, watching Revolutionary Road, and diving into noodles at Saigon with friends. Whew. It's been busy times.

Sleepover Saturday topped the fun charts for me, though. Five college girlfriends and I took a toad trip to Miss JJ's house for junk food, magazines, nail polish, ghost stories, soda pop, and silly romance movies. Basically, we threw a party for our inner teenagers. We listened to NOW hits #5 and #6, which featured late-90s tunes from N Sync and 98 degrees. We ordered a gigantic pizza, prank-called the boys we liked (sorry Ben, Matt, and Tim!), and ate rocky road brownies. I'm minorly embarrassed to admit how quickly the seven of us finished a whole pan of brownies, but if we were actually teenagers, no sugar rush could cramp our style. I mean, how can anyone resist a dessert topped with toasty puff marshmallows?

Toasty puffs get the job done right.

The original recipe for these dulcet delicacies came from a book called Old-Fashioned Bake Sale. I used agave nectar instead of granulated sugar and added a pinch of salt to off-set the sweetness. This recipe is 1/2 the size of its original, which I thought to be less party-sized in its proportions.

Rocky road brownies

• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (like my favorite, Hudson Cream)
  
• 3/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup agave nectar (adjust for taste and batter moisture) or 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  
• 3 Tb. unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup mini marshmallows
• 1/2 cup toasted walnut pieces

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a small brownie pan with butter.

In a small cup, microwave 1/2 of the chocolate pieces for 20-30 seconds, then stir the melted chocolate until it's smooth. Set chocolate aside.

Combine the flour, baking soda, and sale in a small bowl. Set that aside and in yet another bowl, beat together the butter, agave/sugar, and vanilla extract until thoroughly whipped and fluffy as clouds. Mix in the melted chocolate, then carefully blend in flour mixture. Blend until everything is just combined, then spread the batter into the pan evenly. Bake the brownies for 16-20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick inserted into the pan's center comes out slightly sticky.

Remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle your brownies with the marshmallows, remaining chocolate chips, plus the toasted walnut pieces. Turn off the oven and let the brownies warm inside for another two minutes or so, or just until the marshmallows puff up. Cool the brownies for at least 20 minutes before serving. The bars cut best with a sharp knife that has been dipped in hot water. Serve warm with ice cream.

Up-close and in person

Now that you have been inspired by this recipe, bake some of these brownies and try not to giggle over those Cosmo quizzes.