📖 Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Get out a mini muffin tin and line it with paper liners or grease it well. (I like to use a cooking spray with flour in it – works like a charm!).
2. Melt the butter and chocolate: In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the butter and chocolate chips. Microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring in between, until completely melted and smooth. Be careful not to burn the chocolate! Microwaves can be sneaky sometimes.
3. Whisk in the sugar: Add the sugar to the melted chocolate mixture and whisk until well combined. The mixture should look nice and glossy.
4. Add the eggs and vanilla: Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla extract. Make sure everything is well incorporated. No one wants eggy brownies, yuck!
5. In a seperate bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, and salt until well combined. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt.
6. Combine wet and dry ingredients: Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined. Be careful not to overmix! Overmixing leads to tough brownies, and we want them to be nice and tender.
7. Fold in chocolate chunks (optional): If you're using chocolate chunks, gently fold them into the batter.
8. Fill the muffin cups: Fill each muffin cup about 2/3 full with brownie batter.
9. Bake: Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs attached. Don't overbake! They'll continue to set as they cool.
10. Cool: Let the brownie bites cool in the muffin tin for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
11. Decorate: Once the brownie bites are completely cool, frost them with your favorite frosting (I used a simple buttercream tinted blue) and decorate with red, white, and blue sprinkles or star candies.