It's all about the FROSTING.

This weekend, we had our church's local missionaries over for dinner. It's always fun to have those young men with us, and we enjoy cooking up a big meal for appreciative diners!! So we fed our guys some steak fajitas, with all the trimmings....  and they definitely went away full.

Dessert was brownies, (always a fave) which brings me to the point of this post: F-R-O-S-T-I-N-G!!
I posted my brownies-from-scratch recipe back HERE, with an accompanying glossy chocolate frosting recipe. This time, I did my basic butter frosting instead. So once again, for my kids, here's the recipe.

Actually here is THREE (+1) recipes. Because the variations are so good, and always a good thing to have a good frosting recipe in your pocket.

Basic Butter Frosting

Part of the beauty of this recipe, is that it's simple. Four or five ingredients, and that's it.
Butter
Powdered Sugar
Vanilla extract
Milk
Cocoa Powder

This is the Chocolate Frosting (with cocoa powder) version.
Usually, the base recipe starts with one stick of butter, but this time,because I was making this for a small batch of brownies, I cut the recipe in half.

It's best to let the butter soften before starting.

(Hey, did you catch that GIANT can of Ghirardelli cocoa powder in the photos?? A gift from my brother & sis-in-law, straight from San Francisco --- MMMMmmmmmmm!!!!!)

I usually use my hand mixer, but a stand mixer is fine, too. Get the butter stirred up, and then start adding the powdered sugar in stages. Try not to let the powdered sugar poof up and float all over the room. Ha!

Because this is the cocoa powder version, I add the cocoa powder with the first additions of powdered sugar. And start mixing!

Once the first addition is incorporated, add the next installment of sugar (& cocoa)....

Come to think of it, most of the time I make this frosting, I do this cocoa powder version.

You may get to the point where the whole thing becomes way too thick and cumbersome for the mixer. That's pretty common. You can add the vanilla extract, and even the first part of the milk (or other liquid -- see variations below) to counter that.

You can see in this picture that the mixture is very thick, and in chunks. I had not added any liquid in yet. The reason you wait until the end to add the milk, is because that really controls how spreadable the frosting ends up, and a little bit of milk really goes a long way.

So when you add the milk, add it in increments, too. Do not assume that you will need all of the milk, and just dump it in. Many times, I put in less than the total amount. It can get too runny very quickly on you.

Your end result should be very spreadable, but not runny. It should generally hold soft peaks, but not be stiff. If it's too thick, it doesn't leave the knife/spatula easily, and can sometimes "pull" crumbs from the cake (or brownies!), rather than playing nice and staying on the surface.

This is actually a touch on the thick side. I could have added a bit more milk to it.
Also, the more you mix it, the more air will be incorporated, and the fluffier the frosting is. This is neither "good" or "bad", it's just good to know, based on what you want for your results. It's the difference between creamy and fluffy -- either one us really good!!

My kids will recognize my typical swirly diagonal frosting pattern -- you can do whatever you want. Just make it look good!!

And don't forget to lick the beaters!!

(I told her she's spoiled, because she got to lick both beaters! When I was a kid, I had to share with my brother!)

Oh, and add some sprinkles on top of the brownies, too. For good measure!
(I forgot to take pictures with the sprinkles. And, the sprinkles didn't stick well this time, because the frosting was so thick. But it was sooo good!!)

So here's the actual recipe variations..... the method is the same for all of them.

Vanilla Butter Frosting

1 stick butter, softened (1/2 cup)
4 1/2 c. powdered sugar
2 t. vanilla extract
3 T. milk  ..... about.

Mix powdered sugar and butter. Stir in vanilla extract and milk (in stages!!). Beat until frosting is smooth and of spreading consistency. Remember, you can add the extract a little early if the mixture is too thick and cumbersome. You can totally add food coloring for variety -- especially when frosting cupcakes or cookies. This is not meant to be a super-white, or royal icing-type of frosting.


Orange Butter Frosting

1 stick butter, softened (1/2 cup)
4 1/2 c. powdered sugar
3 T. orange juice  ..... about.
2 t. grated orange peel -- if you're feeling gourmet about it.

I tint this with orange food coloring, and use it for frosting sugar cookies in the fall (leaf and pumpkin shapes). This version omits the vanilla, but I bet you could also totally include it, for a creamsicle-type flavor.


Chocolate Butter Frosting
(using baking chocolate)

1 stick butter, softened (1/2 cup)
3 ounces melted unsweetened chocolate (baking chocolate)
3 c. powdered sugar
2 t. vanilla extract
3 T. milk ..... about.


Chocolate Butter Frosting 
(using cocoa powder)

1 stick, + 3 T. butter, softened
3 c. powdered sugar
9 T. cocoa powder
2 t. vanilla extract
3 T. milk ...... about.

(This is the version shown in the photos of this post.)
 Add cocoa powder when adding the powdered sugar. Can be borderline dry, so pay attention to the consistency as you mix.
The reason I make this one more than the other chocolate version, is because I always have cocoa powder in the pantry, and don't necessarily stock baking chocolate.

If you're paying attention, and doing the math, the cocoa powder version simply uses the standard substitution for baking chocolate:

1 square (1 ounce) of baking chocolate = 1 T. butter + 3 T. cocoa powder.


So there you have it!!

Love you guys!! Mwah!

--mom