Fudgy Mini Brownie Fruit Pies with Almond Cream Cheese

For the brownies:

Preheat oven to 325°F. Fold a long piece of heavy foil into a 13″ wide strip and fit it inside a 9″ x 13″ metal baking pan, leaving a foil overhang on the 2 long sides. Spray the foil with nonstick spray. Set 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. 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 the prepared pan. Bake brownies until slightly puffed and dry-looking and when a tester inserted into the center comes out with some moist batter attached, about 20 minutes. Let cool completely in pan 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. The pan I used produces a brownie that is 1/2″ thick. Be sure your cookie cutter is taller than 1/2″. Press a round biscuit cutter (mine was 2-1/4″ in diameter) firmly into the cooled brownie. Use a thin metal spatula to lift the cookie cutter filled with the brownie from the foil. Gently press the brownie out of the biscuit cutter and set aside. Repeat the cutting process until your brownie looks like a big piece of Swiss cheese. (And I hope you’re eating up some of those brownie scraps!)

For the almond cream cheese:

Beat together the cream cheese and butter in a medium sized bowl until light and fluffy. Add almond extract and beat to combine. Slowly add sifted powdered sugar, beating well to remove any lumps.

Using a pastry bag fitted with a large plain round tip, pipe almond cream cheese onto the top of each brownie round. I did a little bit of this and a little bit of that … Just pipe it on in the design(s) of your choice.

For the fruit topping:

Use both whole and cut fruits, depending on size. Decorate in the design(s) of your choice.

Source: Brownies recipe was heavily adapted from one of my very favorite brownies, a recipe originally from Bon Appetit magazine, July 2009.