Espresso Brownie Bites with Kahlua Buttercream Kisses

For the espresso brownie bites:
Preheat oven to 325°F. Fold a long piece of heavy foil into a 13″ wide strip and fit it inside a 9″x13″ metal baking pan, leaving a foil overhang on the 2 long sides. Spray the foil with nonstick spray. Set the pan aside.

Stir the butter and chocolate in a large heavy saucepan over very low heat until chocolate is melted. Remove from heat and whisk in the sugar, and then whisk in the eggs 1 at a time. Whisk in espresso powder, vanilla, and salt. Then sift the flour over the chocolate mixture and stir to blend well. Transfer batter to prepared pan, smoothing the top.

Bake brownies until slightly puffed and dry-looking and a tester inserted into the center comes out with some moist batter attached, about 20 minutes. Then remove the pan from the oven and let them cool completely in the pan set on a rack.

Run a knife around the inside edge of the brownie pan. Use the overhanging foil as an aid and gently lift the brownies from the pan onto a flat work surface. The pan I used produces a brownie that is 1/2″ thick. Be sure your round cutter is taller than 1/2″. Press your round cutter (mine is 1-3/8″ in diameter) firmly into the cooled brownie. Use a thin metal spatula to lift the cookie cutter filled with brownie from the foil. Gently press the brownie out of the cutter and set the brownie round on a tray. Repeat the cutting process until your brownie looks like a big piece of Swiss cheese. You should get roughly 40 rounds.

For the Kahlua Buttercream Kisses:
Add butter to a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Add cream and mix to combine. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine Kahlua and espresso powder, stirring briskly with a spoon to dissolve the espresso powder. Add Kahlua mixture to the butter and mix again. With mixer on low speed, add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, mixing until smooth after each addition. Once it’s combined, beat a bit more, until light and fluffy.

Spoon buttercream into a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip (I used Wilton #12). Add a little kiss of buttercream to the top of each brownie bite. Finish by dusting top of the buttercream lightly with cinnamon by shaking cinnamon through a fine mesh strainer.

Note: If you don’t want to pipe on the little buttercream kisses, you could easily spread some buttercream onto the top of each brownie bite, and then finish with a dusting of cinnamon.