Star-Spangled Firecracker Brownie Pie

What do you get when you combine brownies, hot fudge topping, ice cream and chili powder? Firecracker Brownie Pie!  Yes, this brownie-based dessert has chili powder in it, giving it just a bit of zip in your bite. If you don’t like chili powder, just leave it out!

If you love a little bit of heat in your desserts, add more chili powder.  Because, my recipe for Firecracker Brownie Pie has just a subtle, almost imperceptible bit of heat.  In fact, unless you tell people that it has chili powder in it, they probably won’t even notice – not even your children!

So, if you like spice that is up there in Scoville heat units, add another teaspoon (or two) to this recipe! Whether you add the chili or not, Firecracker Brownie Pie is a festive dessert for your 4th of July celebration!

Are you wondering how I come up with some of my recipes?  I know you really, really want to know.  Well, I spend a lot of time thinking.  Yep, I’m a thinker.  That’s me, the thinker!  Actually, while I do spend a lot of time thinking about potential recipes, I am often inspired by others, too.

And, I’m always looking for ways to use leftovers and this recipe uses leftover jarred hot fudge topping. You see, I had an Ice Cream Sundae Dessert Buffet at Christmastime and now, unbelievably, its July!  And, I bought way too much hot fudge topping at Christmas and wanted to use it up!

Plus, I think I dream about recipe creation, although I really don’t wake up remembering my dreams, so I may be only dreaming that I’m dreaming about recipes {grin}.

While scouring through my pantry, I found an old brownie mix, close to its expiration date (check out my post:  Warning!  About to Expire!).  It was a small brownie mix, 10.25 ounces; not your typical 18.4 ounce box.  I thought to myself, “oh, darn; this will make flat brownies unless I pour it into a pan smaller than 8″ x 8″!”  But, I didn’t have a small pan.

Suddenly, out of the sky I was struck by a bolt of lightening!

• What if I make it in a pie plate as the “crust” for a layered dessert?
• What if I put the leftover hot fudge topping over the brownie?
• What if I keep it simple and just put vanilla ice cream on top?
• What if I add a sprinkle top to it using my star cookie cutters and post it for the 4th of July?

Voila’ – Firecracker Brownie Pie was born.  There you have it – a peek inside my brain!

After those big, audacious decisions were made, I thought about adding chili powder to spice it up!  Why not?  So, I named it Firecracker Brownie Pie instead of just plain ol’ Brownie Pie.  Genius! {grin}

When I made the very first one, I didn’t photograph it.  And, you can see by these photos, this particular Firecracker Brownie Pie looks like I stuck my finger smack dab on the end of the pie and squished it!  Why did I notice that eye-sore only AFTER I’d uploaded my photos for editing and not while I was taking these photos?  Oh, well.

The Birth of a (Firecracker Brownie Pie) Nation

I was going to photograph the first Firecracker Brownie Pie I ever made because it turned out great.  I’d made the pie, put it in the freezer and was going to photograph it the next day.

But, we ended up having company from out-of-town.  Actually, our guests were from out-of-the-country. England to be exact.  A few days prior, a dear friend in England called me on the phone.  She told me that her friend’s daughter and friend (Kathryn and Caitlin) were traveling the States for several weeks and were, that very moment, in San Diego.  Could I meet up with them and show them around?

Well, it was Monday and they were leaving Friday.  So, I suggested we’d meet for dinner.  In fact, why don’t they just come to my house for dinner?

So, my friend’s friend sent me her daughter’s email address and we connected.  Since I actually don’t live in San Diego proper, but in a neighboring community 35 miles north of downtown San Diego (where they were staying), it was decided that Kathryn and Caitlin would catch a commuter bus from downtown San Diego to my community up north.

I would meet them at one of the drop-off points (a shopping center), drive them to my house, we’d have dinner and chat, then I would drive them back to San Diego that evening.

Now, remember this part of the story:  I’ve never met these two girls before in my life!  All I knew is that they were 19-year-old girls.  And, no, I did not (nor do I now) have a picture of them to help me identify them.  But, since they were from England, I knew I could figure it out just by their accent.

Anyway, I arrived at the shopping center at 5:15 p.m.  No bus in sight.  So, I fired off a text:  “I’m here.  Are you here or almost here?”

Kathryn texted back:  “We are now walking to Target because we quickly need to get a thank you card.  Where shall we meet you?”  (can you hear her British accent in these words?)

I answered:  “I can meet you inside Target in the greeting card aisle.  Be there in a few minutes.”

With that, I found a place to park near Target, went in and grabbed a shopping cart (I decided to do some quick, last minute grocery shopping for our dinner).

Pushing the empty cart, I rounded a corner and spied the greeting card aisle.  Right away I saw two girls (who looked to be the right age) in the greeting card aisle.  “How easy was that?” I thought to myself.

One girl was crouched down on the floor with a small, portable shopping basket beside her, leaning into the greeting cards, holding one in her hand reading it.  The other girl was standing, but leaning forward and looking over the crouching girl’s shoulder.  I skipped (yes, me, silly girl skipped) over to them and did one of those bouncy “ta-da’s” with my arms extended and loudly declared, “hi, I’m Carole!”

Two girls stared back at me in total confusion.  Maybe even a little fear!  Who was this crazy old woman “ta-da-ing” in front of them?

“Aren’t one of you Kathryn?” I asked miserably.  At that point, I didn’t even know the second girl’s name (Caitlin)!

“No,” they shake their heads in unison.

So, I grovel my sincere apologies for startling them and being a goof-ball and I back out of the aisle.  As I back out, I hear a very English accent proclaim, “Carole, we are here!” and both Kathryn and Caitlin pop up from around the OTHER greeting card aisle! Whew!

After a quick greeting, I take off to reconnoiter the grocery aisles and meet them back at the check-out counter.  We load up and spend about 45 minutes driving through my town before we arrive back at my house.  The swallows are going crazy, so I have to (I just have to!) tell them the swallow “story” and if you haven’t a clue what I’m talking about, you can read my swallow stories here:

• Operation Swallow Adios
• Sweet Baby James
• The Best Nests in the West
• The Swallows Return to Capistrano South
• Use What Talents You Possess

And, a few of the posts above have links to my YouTube videos of the swallows!  Your lucky day!

Anyway, the gist of this story is that I met two complete strangers, wonderful young girls on a Stateside adventure, and we spent a few hours getting to know each other better and we ate Firecracker Brownie Pie for dessert!

Do  you see the irony here?  Serving Brits a dessert, Firecracker Brownie Pie, made in celebration of America’s independence from England?

We also ate Grilled Balsamic Chicken Breast Tenders, Zucchini Moons with Parmesan and Pine Nuts, a delicious brown rice and veggie salad from Trader Joe’s and melt-in-your-mouth dinner rolls from my local grocery store.

A wonderful evening of fellowship with complete strangers from across the pond, who I now consider friends.  I am so blessed to have many, many friends!

NOTE:  cutting Firecracker Brownie Pie into slices is a bit tricky.  After all, the brownie is frozen!  So, use a sharp knife and make several “passes” through the pie, little by little, until you feel the knife blade go all the way through to the bottom of the pie.  If you follow my instructions for the brownie part to a T (i.e., line the pie plate with foil AND grease the bottom and sides), it comes out easily after you’ve cut through the frozen brownie!

Source List

Here’s a list of supplies you made need to make my Firecracker Brownie Pie (this post contains some affiliate links for your convenience.  Click here to read my full disclosure policy.):

• Red placemats
• Blue and white placemats
• Pie plate
• Pie server
• Patriotic napkins
• Blue bottles
• 4th of July decorations
• 4th of July sprinkles
• Blue and red sugar sprinkles
• Star cookie cutters

Here’s a pin-worthy photo collage for Pinterest.  Thanks for sharing!

Here’s the recipe:

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P.S.  These pictures are of my second Firecracker Brownie Pie.  I could not find another 10.25 ounce Brownie Mix at my grocery store, so this recipe is based on a standard 18.4 ounce box of Brownie Mix.  If you are able to find a 10.25 Brownie Mix, I encourage you to try that one because it will make a thinner brownie “crust”, which is slightly easier to cut!  Also, a thinner crust will mean more ice cream.  And, there’s nothing wrong with that!

Tootles,

Other Patriotic posts from Toot Sweet 4 Two’s archives:

Firecracker Pie Crust Stars

42 Independence Day Decorations in Your Home

26 Awesome Things I’m Sweet On

Linking to:

4th of July Food Link-Up