Rocky Road Brownies And Monkey Bread

I made some sticky sweet treats and they are super easy to make, plus a lot of fun to decorate.I haven't made rocky road brownies in a long time. I actually think It was one of my first few recipes I did for this blog. If I look back I can imagine my photo taking skills are a whole lot different.From this picture you can see that the brownies are very dense and fudgy, while chewy and crunchy.A picture can say something 10 times better then any of the words that I could use.That's why I love taking food pictures.

These are very sweet brownies and that basically controls your intake.They are one of those once in a blue moon recipes to make.Great summer recipe ,especially for picnics. So if you crave marshmallows, chocolate and nuts, this brownie is for you.Lots of fun to make, very little ingredient and children will love to sprinkle on the toppings.

• Rocky Road Nut Brownies ( Adapted From Rocky Road Brownies, Martha Stewart)
  
  
  1/2 cup margarine(soft or hard)
• 1 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup mini marshmallows or cut up large marshmallow to equal same amount
• 
  
• 1 cup salted mixed nuts, chopped
  
• 
  Turn on oven to 350F. Grease and flour an 9 inch glass square pan.
• Full a medium size pot with water, less then half way. Heat at medium- high. Once simmering, set a large glass bowl over top of pot. Be sure bottom of bowl is not touching the water, will ruin the melting process if it is.
• Add margarine and 1 cup of chocolate cups to bowl. Stir off and on until melted and smooth about 5 minutes.
• Remove bowl from heat. Stir in white sugar, brown sugar and salt. Then add eggs and stir in the flour. Stir in ½ cup of the salted nuts, chopped. Be sure to stir just until combined. Pour batter into glass pan and evenly spread it using  a rubber spatula. Bake brownies for 35 minutes, until firm and shows moist crumbs when inserting a toothpick.
• Remove from oven. Cut up the large marshmallows to measure out one 1 cup or use miniature marshmallows. Sprinkle on marshmallows, then the leftover chopped nuts and  lastly the remaining chocolate chips.
• Bake until marshmallows are puffed  and chocolate is shiny. Don’t let marshmallows get golden. About 4-5 minutes. Cool completely in pan and cut right away.

I have finally made monkey bread and it was a complete, delicious success.Now all of you that are reading this are probably thinking why is she calling it monkey bread?, (insert confused face here). Well to answer your question no one exactly knows why its called that and I guess everyone just makes up their own assumption.For me I just came up with the idea that the swirls throughout the cake could represent the tails of monkeys. Its a silly thought I know, but might as well have fun with it. Does anyone actually know where the origin of the name came from or like to share their own take on it.Comment below,I love to hear all your ideas and silly ones are very welcome.

Anyways back to the serious stuff of recipes :).All of you want to hear how this cake tastes right? Well I say its between a cinnamon bun and a sticky bun. How can you go wrong with that pair. Its a really dense and moist cake with a lot of intense flavor and has a really nice sticky, slightly crunchy outside.Its not to sweet and has a great balance.It has a lovely appearance and its a delightful comfort food.I can see myself putting raisins and nuts the next time I make this cake.

Its a really fun recipe and you definitely get your hands dirty in the process.And what I mean by that is you get to soak dough in butter and roll it in cinnamon and sugar.Also the layering of the dough is the best part and its amazing what you create in the end.This recipe is well worth the time and effort put into it, to have a piece of this delightful cake.Two thumbs up to Micheal Smith Monkey Bread. He is by far my favorite chef on food network Canada and I love his shows.