My husband and I have been having a few of the same “discussions” our whole marriage: 1) the fact that he is seemingly incapable of throwing anything away. 2) the fact that I can’t ever remember where _________ is/are (insert your item of choice here–keys, pens, immunization cards, my purse, my cell phone, the house phone, my engagement ring…well, the engagement ring thing only happened once, but it was a tense couple of hours. Turns out I’d used it as a bookmark the night before when I was falling asleep reading. Tip: for the sake of your relationship, never use your engagement ring as a bookmark.) 3) the fact that I love folksy rock music that he finds pretentious and that he likes Katy Perry for more than her voluminous bosoms (not that liking her for her bosoms is any better). And 4) the fact that I like chocolate, but I only eat/make chocolate desserts maybe 50% of the time whereas for him, if there’s not chocolate in his dessert, it’s automatically knocked down a few pegs. I mean, this is the man who makes his root beer floats with chocolate ice cream.
So imagine my shock and, I’ll admit it, a little bit of horror when we had these Mississippi Mud Brownies not too long ago and he told me they were…wait for it…too chocolatey.
*Gasp* What was more shocking was that I completely loved them and did not think they were too chocolatey and that when they were coupled with a Diet Coke, they formed the New Breakfast of Champions.
What was bad is that I tried adding a graham cracker crust (which ended up not being a great idea–let’s not mess with perfection here) and I thought it would be weird to send my husband to work with a big pan of brownies along with instructions to scrape off the bottom layer, so I was stuck with a whole 9×13″ pan of the most devilishly awesome brownies that my life partner had deemed “too chocolatey.” I finally had to just fill the whole rest of the pan with water so I’d stop cutting off a little corner every time I walked by (which ends up being quite often when you’re a food blogger).
It starts out with a really fabulous brownie recipe. You’ll need all-purpose flour, sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking powder, salt,
melted butter, eggs, and vanilla. 
The recipe I use calls for chopped pecans, but I think nuts in brownies are an abomination, so I replaced them with dark chocolate chunks. Of course.
Preheat your oven to 350. Lightly grease a 9×13″ pan and set it aside.
Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer.
Pop the sticks of butter into the microwave,
melt it, lightly beat the eggs, and add those to the flour mixture along with the vanilla. Spread the batter into the prepared pan
and bake it for 25-40 minutes or until a pick inserted into the center comes out clean. Now…there’s been a little debate about how long these brownies need to bake, and unfortunately, I don’t have the perfect answer. Here are the facts:
-These brownies should be very moist and fudgy.
-The original recipe says to bake them for 30 minutes.
-I am essentially at sea-level and bake these is a glass Pyrex 9×13 pan.
-At 25 minutes (because I always check a few minutes before they’re supposed to be done), my brownies were JUST starting to firm up around the very, very edges of the pan and were completely liquid inside.
-I checked them every five minutes and they were done in the 45-50 minute range.
-Other people have had them come out dry at 30-35 minutes.
I wish, wish, wish I could give you a more accurate baking time, but there are just too many variables. I do know that if you’re baking them in a metal pan, they’ll take less time, especially if it’s a dark metal pan. Usually things at a low elevation bake faster, but apparently not in this case. Bottom line is that there are so many variables in the science of baking, many of which we’re generally not aware of and can vary from day to day, so while it’s a pain, until you know how your oven and baking equipment bakes these brownies, you should start checking on them around 25-30 minutes and keep checking every 5 until the toothpick just BARELY comes out clean.
Any-who. When the brownies are done, take some marshmallows and spread them over the hot brownies.
Have you seen those flat marshmallows from Kraft? They are awesome (and Kraft is totally not paying me to say that).
I like them so much better than mini marshmallows because they’re already in the shape that you want them for brownies, but if mini marshmallows are all you have, you’ll need about 3 cups of them.
Pop the pan back into the oven and bake it just long enough for the marshmallows to puff up.
Allow the brownies to cool completely. While they’re cooling, we get to the naughtiest part of the brownies:
Oh, goodness, Tim Riggins what are you doing here in my blog post? No, seriously, like Tim Riggins, the frosting is totally the, “Oh, no, I shouldn’t, thank you, please, can I have some more?” part of these brownies.
You’ll need powdered sugar, more cocoa powder, more butter, more vanilla, and evaporated milk, which is a GREAT way to add richness to frostings without adding a ton of calories. But seriously, who’s counting at this point??
Melt the butter and then combine it with the rest of the ingredients and beat with an electric mixer until it’s light and fluffy. Then, when the brownies are cool, spread it all over the marshmallow layer.
These can be kind of a pain to cut, especially getting the first few out, but just take your time and make firm, straight-down cuts (to make sure the marshmallows are getting cut), wiping the blade often. A plastic knife (just the disposable kind) actually works better than just about anything else.
This recipe makes about 24 brownies, which will mean 24 brand-new best friends. Well, 23, unless you count yourself.
Mississippi Mud Brownies (Tim Riggins Brownies)
- Total Time: 40
- Yield: 24
Description
These Mississippi Mud Brownies are affectionately referred to as Tim Riggins Brownies because they are extra in every way and so bad but so, so good.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, lightly spooned into measuring cups and leveled with a knife
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoons table salt
1 cup (2 sticks) melted butter (no substitutions)
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks
3 cups mini marshmallows (or enough flat marshmallows to cover a 9×13″ pan)
FROSTING
1/2 cup melted butter
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup evaporated milk or whole milk
1 pound powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease (and flour, if desired) a 9×13″ pan and set aside.
- Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer. Add the melted butter, whisked eggs, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed for about 3 minutes, scraping the bowl occasionally. Add in the chocolate chips and spread the batter in the prepared pan. Bake for 25-40 minutes (or a little less if using a metal pan; please check out the notes on baking times in the post because they can vary as wildly as a drunken party at Tim Riggins’ house) or until a pick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out clean.
- When the brownies are done, remove from the oven and spread the marshmallows on top. Return the pan to the oven for 2-3 minutes or until the marshmallows are puffed. Remove from oven and cool completely.
- While the brownies are cooling, beat together the frosting ingredients on high speed until light and fluffy. Spread over the cooled brownies and cut into squares. Makes about 24 brownies.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 30
Questions & Reviews
You had me at Tim Riggins!!
These look AMAZING! I hate nuts in my brownies too! I’ve been looking for a new complete TV series to watch…looks like Friday Night Lights will be it! 😉
You had me at Tim Riggins. I have to make these ASAP.
I’ve made brownies very similar to these for a long time and they are always a hit. But I’ve never made it from scratch. I bet these are even better! Now I need to wipe the drool off my keyboard…
For ease of presentation, may I suggest transferring the brownies from the brownie pan to a flat sheet pan before the marshmallows and frosting are added? Then they’ll be easy to slide onto a cutting board and not lose any corner pieces. You may have to trim the edges to make them pretty, but that’s the cook’s prerogative. 😉
There is absolutely no way I could make these in my house because I would eat them all. But they look amazing. And I LOVE the Tim Riggins reference–so true!
Nuts in brownies ARE an abomination!! And I love Friday Night Lights!
clearly, you should re-name these the Tim Riggins Brownies. Love him..and the brownies!
I totally am. You’ve inspired me.
I just might have remembered these brownies because you renamed them! We just moved and the four year old and I made these to take down to the fire station at the end of the street. Do people do that? She’s insisting. It should be interesting.
That’s how my husband is…if there isn’t chocolate in it then it isn’t dessert. Bless his mother’s heart for teaching him this.
And bless Tim Riggins heart for his delicious look as well.
Thank you I needed a dessert for my daughters activity tonight, I think we will be making these!!
Oh Tim Riggins…be still my heart!!! Can’t get enough of him, Friday Night Lights or Chocolate!! Thanks for the yummy recipe. My mom used to make a version of this all the time when I was little. I can’t wait to make them for my kids.
I love your site and your cook book! The fun thing is that I have family in Star, Idaho and DeRidder, Louisiana — so you are literally near to my heart. Loved the recipe today, but I gasped at the Tim Riggins photo! We LOVE Friday Night Lights. Thanks for sharing Tim Riggins with the world. . And validating my theory of the Breakfast of Champions. You have all the food groups covered in those brownies and the diet coke rounds off the meal. A scrumptious post in every way!!
You’re kidding!!! DeRidder is totally in our neck of the woods. Or at least as “neck of the woods” as you can get in the middle-of-nowhere Louisiana! 🙂
Hey! I know you! Small world. Hi Lissa!
Too chocolatey? I think they look amazing! Although when I made my favorite brownie recipe I thought they were too rich at first. What was wrong with me?!
I’m glad I’m not the only one that thinks adding nuts to desserts is destroying it. I will eat nuts in a car, in a house and with a mouse but if you add them to my dessert, I will not eat them!!
It’s such a pain to dig them out of brownies and I’m left with such a mess….yes, I will dig them out in front of you and make you feel bad for adding them.
Oh and this recipe is following me to the summer family get together!!!
Haha! I LOVE the Dr. Seuss reference!!!
HAHAHAHAHAHA! That was hilarious… I burst out laughing (Seriously. Out loud and everything!) …and those brownies look just as scrumptious as Tim Riggins. 😉
I just laughed so hard at the Tim Riggins. That was really funny. Oh, the brownies look good too. Thanks!
o.m.g. you are making the goal of NOT gaining 50 pounds this time very difficult for this pregnant mama! hahaha! The brownies look sooooo good, and unfortunately I have everything on hand to make them but no one to share them with (because my weird hubby doesn’t like dessert.) Thanks for posting this goodness. If I make them soon, I’ll let you know.
Ha Ha…Laughed my head off. I seriously do want these for breakfast coupled with a Dr Pepper! Thanks!
Seriously!! How have we never hung out before…Tim Riggins can DEFINITELY be added to the list of our likes!! Oh…and the brownies look DIVINE!!
I was also sold on these thanks to the Riggins picture. Love me some FNL and brownies. 🙂
yes, these brownies look good, but i just like the fact that you snuck in a picture of tim riggins. i’ve also seen the whole 5th season and i’m going through withdrawals. pretty sure i cried in the finale too.
First off, I love Mississippi Mud Brownies. They are not too chocolatey. They are perfection, and they go perfectly with Tim Riggins. Can’t wait to try them (the brownies).
OMG, Tim Riggins….I can’t believe it’s almost over. Seriously my favorite show ever!! Glad he has made an appearance for the show’s ending.
LOVE TIM RIGGINS!! love & miss Friday Night Lights… such a great series, (I didn’t know Texas had so much under age drinking.) Now to whip me up some brownies and rewatch the series…. may need a few batches!!
The brownies look sooo good! And perfect to eat while watching Friday Night Lights. Love that show!!! Can’t believe there is only one more new episode. Sooo sad to see it end!
Oh, my gosh, I know. Confession: I bought the 5th season on DVD, so I’ve seen how it ends. It’s seriously one of the best finales ever (not to say I didn’t bawl my way through it).
You had me at Tim Riggins! Oh my! Looks great – and the brownies too! 😉
These look really yummy!
Too chocolatey… psshhhh… What a silly husband you have! These look so good. Although I’ll have to wait for a cheat meal to make these bad boys. And I’ll make sure I have company that night so as to rid the pan of more brownies. The calories of which I do not need… but will gladly consume if left in the pan. No self control, I tell ya!
Um….it’s 2:30 in the morning and I seriously have to fight the urge to go to the 24 hour grocery store and make these tonight. I’m seriously drooling though, and I *will* be making these…..SOON! 🙂
“together with a Diet Coke formed the New Breakfast of Champions” This made me laugh out loud (really!). Thanks for the smile! 🙂
Yeah, there’s no such thing as too chocolately. These look scrumptious!!