Chocolate Truffle Brownie Dessert

Here is the awaited recipe for this luscious chocolaty dessert. This is not a dessert for the faint of heart (or those on a diet)!

Ingredients:
1 pkg. fudge brownie mix (8-in. square pan size)
3 cups (18 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups heavy whipping cream, divided
6 tablespoons butter, cubed
3 tablespoons vanilla extract (yes, you read correctly, that's 3 tablespoons!)
14-16 Pirouette cookies (I usually buy the Pepperidge Farm brand), cut into 1-1/2 inch pieces

Directions:
1. Prepare brownie batter according to package directions. Spread into a greased 9-inch springform pan. Place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes (watch carefully so it doesn't burn). Cool completely on a wire rack.

2. Place chocolate chips in a food processor. Cover; process until finely chopped. In a small, microwave-safe bowl, combine 1 cup cream and butter. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 1 to 1-1/2 minutes or until butter is melted; stir until smooth. With food processor running, add cream mixture in a slow, steady stream. Add vanilla; cover and process until smooth. It will look like this when you're finished (thick and chocolaty and lick the bowl delicious...yum!).



3. Cut a small hole in the corner of a pastry or plastic bag (I use a ziploc). Fill with about 1/4 cup chocolate mixture (I don't measure); set aside for garnish. Transfer remaining chocolate mixture to a large bowl.

Remove sides of springform pan. Spread half of the chocolate mixture over brownie layer, spreading evenly to coat top and sides.

4. In a small mixing bowl, beat remaining cream until soft peaks form; fold into remaining chocolate mixture. Spread evenly over chocolate layer (top and sides).

5. Gently press cookies into sides of dessert. It will look like this when you're finished.
6. Pipe reserved chocolate mixture on top. Usually I make this for someone's birthday, so I'll write a message on it with the chocolate like so.
If I had a decent camera I could show you what it really looks like on the inside. Use your imagination. This is close enough.
This is a super easy and delicious dessert. Go make it! (Please don't step on a scale afterwards...)

So, Mom, I know you're not a big fan of Mother's Day. You don't care for the "burnt toast and dry eggs" and you think that Mothers should be treated well every day (they should!). I understand all of that. But, the point of Mother's Day is to especially think about our Moms for a whole day. Kind of like Christmas. Sure, we should think of Jesus every day but Christmas gives a special time to dedicate to Him. Sorry...I'm good at lecturing....



Mom, I want you to know how grateful I am to be your daughter. I love this picture below because it helps me to imagine you reading to me when I was a baby.
Mom, do you know that I appreciate you even though I'm not often good about letting you know? Do you know that I think about you all the time? You know that I daily wonder how on earth you survived all of us kids ("one day at a time", I know) because I ask you all the time. Do you know that I never truly appreciated you until I had my first child? I wonder why it has to work that way.



Because I am now a mother I understand the feeling of worry and dread that I'm going to mess up my children. That I'll somehow never be good enough. You mentioned on your blog that you wondered if you had let your children down. I can't speak for my brothers and sisters, but I can say that the older I get the more you lift me up!

I'll never forget the time after Alton was born. I suffered from severe post partum depression. You didn't mind when I called you almost every day (or was it 10 times a day?) at all hours of the day and night....usually sobbing. Then there was the time right after Evelyn was born. I was sad that you couldn't come to see her as a newborn. Then, when she was three days old you surprised me by showing up on my doorstep! That sure was a great surprise. You had only planned to stay for the weekend, but I somehow convinced you to stay for a couple of weeks instead. =)

Mom, you're a wonderful mother. The older I get, the better mother you are. Thank you a million times (and then some) for dedicating your life to your husband, children and now your grandchildren. You're the best and I miss you and love you!