Brownie Sundae Dessert

Hello Friends! I've missed you but I hope you've had a fun summer! I certainly have had a busy one with my oldest grandson here for his entire summer vacation. Riley is 11 yrs old and a growing boy, so you can imagine that I spent a lot of time in the kitchen. My friend, Anna, says feeding grandchildren is not about quality, it's about quantity! And so, I began to veer away from homemade and into "fast food" that would fill that growing boy quickly! He's gone home now and will start school Aug 2, so the house is quiet and the kitchen in need of a good cleaning and restocking. I sent a bag of food home with him of half finished cereal, mixes, Nutella and other kid favorites!

Today at our church, Sharp Memorial United Methodist Church in Young Harris, GA, we had Camp Meeting service and dinner on the grounds. Now, if you have never been to Camp Meeting and dinner on the grounds, you have not LIVED! The service was all music (well, that and some praying and a lot of praising!) and all from my childhood. It was a million times better than any "oldies concert" you can imagine. We sang everything from "Victory in Jesus" to "Do Lord". It took me back to my camp days riding the bus to Blue Lake Methodist Camp in south Alabama with my best friend, Pam Blair. What glorious memories!! And I cried like a baby from sheer joy. Then the choir sang "I'll Fly Away"! As my Daddy used to say, that was real toe tapping music! We are blessed with the most talented pianist, organist, music director and choir members imaginable! Cody, the young pianist, has a way with those ivories that make you wonder how he can possible move his fingers that fast. Well, you get the picture? What a glorious day! I'm sure Pam was singing along with a heavenly choir!

Then, on to the food and "dinner on the grounds" (except we opted for the air conditioning)! OH, MY! Can those Sharp ladies cook! There were 2 serving lines of 3 or 4 tables each. I've never seen so much food! And it was all sooooo good! Of course, we ate ourselves into a stupor and none of this is probably making any sense (except to those of you who know me well!).

Several folks asked for my dessert recipe. Bill sat in the corner eyeing the servings people took, afraid there would be none to take home for him for later! I would say it was a hit. It is so simple  that I was almost embarrassed when asked for the recipe, but I will share happily with them and you. Give it a try when you need a BIG dessert to serve a crowd. Or make the entire recipe and freeze part of it for later.

The hit recipe is Brownie Sundae Dessert. Basically, it's a brownie base (use a mix or make my recipe from scratch), a layer of cream cheese, powdered sugar and cool whip, a layer of 2 kinds of instant pudding, another layer of cool whip and garnished with chocolate syrup and chocolate shavings. See... how easy!


Brownie Sundae Dessert

9x13" pan of your favorite brownies, cooled and broken into bite size pieces
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
8 oz. container Cool Whip
 3 oz pkg vanilla instant pudding
3 oz pkg chocolate instant pudding
3 1/2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon instant coffee , optional
8 oz Cool Whip
Chocolate syrup or sauce
Chopped chocolate or chocolate curls for garnish

Place brownie bites in botttom of 9x13" serving dish. Combine cream cheese and powdered sugar; mix until well blended. Fold in 8 oz. Cool Whip. Spread over brownie layer. Set aside in refrigerator.
Combine both packages instant pudding with milk and instant coffee in a large bowl. Mix until pudding begins to thicken. Spread over cream cheese layer. Cover with 8 oz. cool whip and garnish with chocolate. Refrigerate until serving time.


Helen's Notes: You can make this in the same pan the brownies are baked in and cut it into squares. I broke up the brownies for easier serving. Following is my easy homemade brownie recipe. I don't know why anyone would mess with a mix when this is so easy!

Double Chocolate Brownies
4 (1-oz.) squares unsweetened chocolate
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk or cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Microwave chocolate and butter in a large bowl on HIGH for 2 minutes. Stir until chocolate melts and set aside to cool. Stir in sugar. Add eggs, milk and vanilla. Stir by hand. Stir in flour and chocolate chips. Pour into a greased 9x13-inch baking pan. Bake for 25 to 30 miutes. Cool in pan.