Have you heard of brownie pizza? I need to get out more, because I hadn't. Not until Dennis Weaver of the Prepared Pantry (www.preparedpantry.com) talked about this in his latest online newsletter. And I have to say, I think this is a killer dessert idea.

It's easy enough to spread brownie better thin. Just use your fingers after you've dunked them in cold water. Keep dunking your fingers and spreading the batter over a greased pizza pan until you have a pizza "crust" that's about ¼-inch thick (less if you can work that).

Bake the "crust" for about half the time you would your typical pan of brownie batter. Watch it closely so it doesn't burn. When the pizza is baked through, place it on a cooling rack and let it cool completely.

While the pizza is baking, get to work on your pizza "sauce" and toppings. You can go crazy with this, and I did!

I made our pizza "sauce" using cream cheese. Into 4 ounces of softened cream cheese I mixed bakers' cocoa (about 2 tablespoons) because I love chocolate on chocolate. Then I mixed in 3 tablespoons powdered sugar, ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. I thinned it with about 2 tablespoons of milk so it would spread easily.

Then came the fun and creative part. I like chocolate and cherries together, so I lightly chopped some drained maraschino cherries (maybe ¾ cup) and sprinkled them all over the pizza. Then I sprinkled on a cup of toasted, lightly chopped pecans. I topped all that with toasted coconut. And then to finish it off, I drizzled some thinned and sweetened cream cheese.

You can do something much like this using a variety of ice cream toppings, as well. Drizzle to your heart's content, as this picture shows.

And as you might guess, the variety of things you can do with this basic idea is limited only to your imagination. Consider these topping ideas, for instance:

There's always the fresh fruit route. Raspberries, sliced strawberries, and blueberries, as shown here, combine exceptionally well with a sweetened cream cheese pizza "sauce."

Then there's candy-it was born to top brownie pizza. Whether it's M & Ms, chopped frozen Reese's Pieces, or a shredded Hershey Bar, it all works. This photo shows some chopped nuts and coconuts completing the design. But I think I'd add a healthy drizzle of caramel sauce as well.

But this is the idea without equal: A Brownie Pizza Bar Party Night! Bake few brownie pizzas, let cool, and then slice into wedges. Set out a variety of pizza "sauce" choices (chocolate cream cheese as mentioned above, thinned peanut butter, ice cream toppings, and so on), and a wide variety of toppings. Everything from the aforementioned fresh fruit, to all sorts of candies, toasted nuts, coconut, even mini marshmallows. It'll all dazzle and delight your crowd.

Everyone fills a plate with a few ungarnished pizza slices and then goes to work creating their individual masterpieces. There's just no end to the chocolatey deliciousness that's possible with brownie pizza!

    Alice Osborne
    Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2006
    Email the author! alice@dvo.com