Mississippi Mud Brownies

One of my all-time favorite recipe blogs, Our Best Bites, posted a brownie recipe today that looks delicious.  As I was browsing the post, they linked to a previous recipe of theirs that I had never seen for "Mississippi Mud Brownies."  I immediately clicked through because I have a recipe for Mississippi Mud Brownies that I LOVE and I wanted to compare.  Our recipes are similar with a couple of key differences that made me decide I ought to go ahead and post my version on here since I often get requests for this recipe (or just for batches of these brownies).  OBB mentions similar problems nailing down a baking time and the majority of the ingredients are the same, although I use a lower flour-to-egg ratio for a less "cakey" brownie (I don't want any confusion between my cakes and my brownies).  One of the big differences for me is that the ladies at OBB don't use pecans or coconut in their version, which sort of makes it less Mississippi Mud and more just plain ol' Marshmallow Brownies. 

 

Anyway, enough of my rambling comparison of brownie recipes.  If there is a favorite dessert in our house, it would probably be these brownies.  Especially if we want something super chocolatey and ooey-gooey decadent.  I have made these for a number of different functions and taken them to friends and they have sort of gained a reputation (especially among the young men at church that Paul used to work with) and they absolutely vanish anytime I take them anywhere. 

 

I have a couple of disclaimers first though:  1.  Some people (like Kate at OBB) feel that nuts in brownies are an abomination, but if you don't include nuts in these brownies, then you are absolutely missing out and frankly, you are making marshmallow brownies rather than mississippi mud brownies because mississippi mud anything refers to the combination of pecans and marshmallow (that may or may not be a universal truth but in my book, using walnuts and marshmallows would make it a rocky road brownie rather than a mississippi mud brownie).  2.  You may think you are not a coconut person (like Paul) and consider leaving it out but that would be unwise.  It gives such richness and a subtle layer of complexity to these brownies that makes them so much better than any other brownie out there.  3.  You may see the frosting on these brownies and think "oh, these are not for me because I am not a frosted brownies person".  Neither are we, but the frosting on these brownies is awesome and absolutely necessary.  Give it a chance even if frosted brownies aren't typically your thing.  4.  The baking time on these is really imprecise and I swear it changes based on the day - humidity, elevation, barometric pressure - whatever.  So you are just going to have to be brave and keep checking them for doneness without overbaking them.  Usually the bake time is anywhere from 30 minutes to 50 minutes. 

Mississippi Mud Brownies

1 cup butter, melted
2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup coconut
1 1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped and divided
1/2 bag miniature mashmallows

Fudge Frosting

1/4 cup butter, melted
3 Tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 Tbsp milk
2 cups powdered sugar

Cream together the butter and sugar until light.  Beat in the vanilla and eggs.  Add cocoa, flour, baking powder, salt, coconut, and 1 cup chopped pecans and mix well.  Turn into a greased 9" x 13" baking pan and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (can take much longer - you just have to keep checking your toothpick for crumbs rather than having it come out coated with batter).  Don't be afraid if the brownies have risen during the baking process and then fall after being removed from the oven.

Immediately top with 1/2 bag of miniature marshmallows upon removing brownies from the oven.  Let cool 5 minutes. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup chopped pecans on top.  Mix all ingredients for fudge frosting together and beat until smooth, then frost with fudge frosting.  The easiest way to frost these brownies is to put dollops of frosting all over the top of the pan and then just nudge them around to touch each other.  It will be okay if marshmallow pokes through in place and it actually helps to frost these brownies while they are hot/warm because the frosting will kind of melt just a little bit and make for extra gooey yumminess.