Very Strawberry Brownies

               

  Here's a quick and easy dessert recipe to make for your Valentine. Very cute, very pink, and yes, VERY strawberry! Now, I know you're probably thinking "if they're not chocolate, why are they still called brownies?" Well, it's the brownie TEXTURE we're going for here. They start out with a regular cake mix, but then when you pour the glaze over the still warm pan, it kind of sinks in a little bit, giving them a more brownie like texture. 

  So here's the thing.. when I was first looking at this recipe, there's were no extracts or dried strawberries, and I worried that it might wind up tasting like that artificial strawberry flavor (you know, like strawberry quik?) So I decided to amp it up a little. I saw another version of it that included the strawberry extract... but the aha moment was when I added the strawberry powder to it. BOOM. Huge strawberry flavor!! I thought "Why am I not adding this to every strawberry thing ever?" Definitely a game changer. 

 I made them for a group of friends at a recent party I hosted. One of my friends said they're VERY STRAWBERRY so that became the name! 

 Make them for your Valentine to show them how much you love them and they'll love you right back!

 

 

 

Brownies
1 box strawberry cake mix
2 large eggs
1/3 cup salted butter, melted
1 tsp strawberry extract (optional, but recommended)
1 tbs freeze dried strawberry powder (optional, but recommended)

Glaze
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tbs strawberry preserves
1 tbs lemon juice
1 tbs cream

Heat oven to 350F.
Line a 9x9 baking pan with parchment paper, leaving about 2 inches hanging over the edge. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, combine all brownie ingredients. Batter will be very thick. Press evenly into prepared pan. Bake about 20 minuted or until an inserted tooth pick comes out clean.
Let it cool slightly, but leave them in the pan.
Mix all glaze ingredients until smooth. Pour over warm brownies.
Cool or chill completely.
Using the parchment overhang like a sling, lift the entire batch out of the pan before cutting into 9 large squares or 16 small ones.

Garnish with a strawberry on top of each one as shown, if desired.

Tips:
The extract and freeze dried strawberries are optional, but seriously they made all the difference for the recipe. Thats what makes them VERY strawberry! In fact, I don't think I'd ever make this recipe without them. You can easily find them on Amazon.
Also, you can double the whole thing and bake in a 9x13 pan. 

Btw. I saw a tiktok video with this recipe and she called them "pinkies", but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.