Brownie Cups

These bite-sized brownie cups combine two textures in one small package: a tender, buttery cream cheese pastry shell holding a fudgy semi-sweet chocolate and walnut filling. They’re essentially miniature tarts with brownie insides.

The shell dough is rich and short, made from cream cheese, margarine (or butter), flour, powdered sugar, and vanilla. It chills for at least an hour so it’s firm enough to press into tiny muffin cups without sticking to your fingers. A scant tablespoon per cup, pressed up the sides, creates a thin, cookie-like crust that bakes up flaky.

The filling is simple: melted semi-sweet chocolate and margarine stirred together with sugar, an egg, and chopped walnuts. Two-thirds full is the target. Overfilling means the chocolate mixture runs over the pastry edges and you lose that clean cup shape.

Baking at the lower temperature of 325°F (160°C) gives the pastry time to set and turn light brown at the edges without overcooking the fudgy chocolate center.

Pro Tips

• Soften the cream cheese and margarine fully before mixing. Cold lumps won’t incorporate into the flour and will leave the dough crumbly.
• Use the back of a small spoon or your thumb to press the dough evenly into each cup. Thin spots will crack during baking.
• Let the cups cool completely in the pan before removing. The pastry is fragile when warm and breaks easily.
• Store at room temperature in a single layer. Stacking squishes the soft chocolate centers.

Variations

• Use dark chocolate instead of semi-sweet for a more intense, less sweet filling.
• Replace the walnuts with pecans or toasted hazelnuts.
• Add a small square of cream cheese in the center of each filling before baking for a cheesecake brownie cup.