GoT: Almond Greyjoy Brownies

Game of Thrones is back! And you know what that means! After a long "wintermission", puns are coming! Well, they're actually here. 

For my first GoT dessert this season, I whipped up coconut frosted brownies with pieces of Almond Joys and little krakens dusted on top to make them, Almond Greyjoy Brownies. Ta da!

I wanted to honor Reek and figured his last name would probably be a better starting place for a punny dessert... hahaha

And if you're not a GoT fan, you can always just make the brownies without the krakens! Coconut + chocolate is one of my fave flavor combos. And you could always dust on something else, if you feel like adding a little something-something.

And remember, a lion may be fierce enough on land, but at sea the Kraken rules supreme. 

BROWNIE INGREDIENTS (makes 9 brownies)
227 grams (1 cup) butter, melted
396 grams (2 cups) granulated sugar
8 grams (2 tsp) vanilla extract
4 large eggs, about 200 grams
1 gram (1 tsp) instant espresso powder
125 grams (1 cup) all-purpose flour
62 grams (¾ cup) cocoa powder + extra for dusting
2.5 grams (½ tsp) baking powder
1.5 grams (¼ tsp) salt
8 snack size Almond Joys (4.8 ounces), roughly chopped

COCONUT FROSTING INGREDIENTS
137 grams (⅓ cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
74 grams (¼ cup) unsweetened canned coconut cream
300 grams (2 ½ cups) powdered sugar
2 grams (½ tsp) vanilla extract
1.5 grams (¼ tsp) salt
60 grams (1 cup) unsweetened shredded coconut

BROWNIE INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9x9 brownie pan with parchment paper.
2. Whisk instant espresso powder and vanilla extract into melted butter.
3. Whisk sugar into butter mixture until incorporated.
4. Add eggs, one at a time, to butter/sugar mixture, mixing well. 
5. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
6. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until incorporated.
7. Stir in chopped Almond Joys.
8. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean, or with just a few crumbs.
9. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Meanwhile, make Coconut Frosting, recipe below.
10. Once completely cooled, take out of pan, add a layer of Coconut Frosting to the top, cut into nine squares and dust on krakens, instructions below.

COCONUT FROSTING INSTRUCTIONS

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together butter and coconut cream.
2. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until combined.
3. Add vanilla extract and salt, increase speed to high, and beat until smooth and creamy.
4. Add shredded coconut and continue to mix until well combined.

COCOA KRAKENS

1. Print out kraken graphic.
2. Cut out kraken with an exacto knife. You're going to be using it as a stencil, so the black parts don't matter, you want to pay attention the outline left behind.
3. Trim your newly made stencil to about the size of one of your brownie squares. Lay on top of brownie, making sure it's fully in contact with the frosting.
4. Dust with cocoa powder using a fine sieve.
5. Gently remove the paper and repeat with the rest of your brownies. 

NUTRITION (9 brownies)
calories: 772, total fat: 40 g, saturated fat: 21 g, trans fat: 0 g, cholesterol: 156 mg, sodium: 330 mg, potassium: 41 mg, total carbohydrate: 101 g, dietary fiber: 4 g, sugars: 83 g, protein: 7 g