Belgian brownie bites

It's February!  Thank goodness because I feel like it's okay to talk seriously about dessert again.  I'm also excited because to me, February is the unofficial month for chocolate.  Maybe it's a toss-up between December (the holidays) and February but with Valentine's Day, I have to say February edges out for the title.  I know some people complain about how "commercial" Valentine's Day has become but I don't see anything wrong with a holiday that celebrates love...with chocolate!  Even if you don't have a significant other, celebrate loving yourself and treating yourself well.  It doesn't have to be extravagant but a little box of chocolate goes nicely with it - I'm just sayin'.

So I'm starting February off with a chocolate recipe.  Yes, the majority of the recipes I make and post here involve chocolate so maybe this is just an excuse to do more of the same.  These are Belgian brownies, or Belgian brownie "bites" in their small form.  Specifically, this is the homemade version of Le Pain Quotidien's mini brownie bites that you can find in their bakeries.  I know they might not look particularly alluring but you have to taste them.

Did you ever watch The Golden Girls?  You know how Sophia would start a story by saying "Picture it!  Sicily, 1945..."?  Well, picture it: New York City, December, 2011; a family of 3 heads to Rockefeller Center to see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular show.  Afterwards, they stop into a bakery nearby for a snack and they pick a couple of things, including a little something humbly labeled  "mini brownie bite."  The mom takes a bite, shares it with her six-year old son, and swoons just a bit.  She vows to try and find the recipe to make it at home...

So that's how this came to be.  I remember how the little brownie bites at Le Pain Quotidien grabbed my attention.  Beyond the fact that hey, it's chocolate, I thought it was odd that these "brownies" were in mini cupcake-like form (I think theirs is a little bigger/taller than mine though; shaped a bit like Thomas Keller's chocolate bouchons - something else to try making  one day) and had these  sunken tops, which I'd never seen on a brownie.  I had a mini but I think they had larger, regular size brownies too but my eye is naturally drawn to cute, miniature things. 

These brownie bites look rustic and humble but the flavor is anything but.  They are actually quite rich and moist inside, with a nice deep, dark chocolate flavor.  I shouldn't be surprised since the Belgians know their chocolate!  When I found the recipe online, I realized this richness  was thanks to generous amounts of butter and chocolate.  What you really have here is  nearly-flourless chocolate cakes that you can pick up and eat.  If you're like me and like super chocolaty desserts like molten chocolate cake, flourless chocolate cake, chocolate mousse, or truffles, this is for you.

Instead of miniature form, you can make these Belgian brownies in standard muffin tin sizes

These Belgian brownies remind me a lot of the brownies from Baked but in this case, the chocolate flavor really shines through whereas I think the inclusion of brown sugar in the Baked recipe masks some of the chocolate just a little bit (but what do I know).  Once baked, the tops of these brownies puff up but then fall and look a little sunken as they cool.  The top is slightly crisp and the center is fudgy and moist.  They are really easy to make (all by hand) and since they bake in muffin tins, they're compact, already individually-portioned, and easy to transport/share for a group.