Easy Frosted Valentine's Brownies Recipe

[Photograph: Alexandra Penfold]

Notes: You can use your favorite from scratch recipe, like these or these. Or use a mix, I won't tell!

To make the heart shape I used an approximately 2 3/4-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter and I got 8 heart-shaped brownies out of a 11- x 7- inch pan. You may get more or less depending on the size of your cookie cutter and pan (8- x 8- and 9- x 13- are typical pan sizes for brownies).

For tinting the frosting I prefer gel food coloring, but note that a little goes a long way. Frost the brownies from lightest to darkest, first working with the white frosting then adding drops of color and frosting brownies in progressively darker shades.

About the author: Alexandra Penfold is mild-mannered literary agent by day, food ninja by night. Never one to skip dessert she's the Brownie half of Blondie & Brownie, a Midtown Lunch contributor, and co-author of New York à la Cart: Recipes and Stories from the Big Apple's Best Food Trucks. You can follow her on Twitter at @BlondieBrownie.

Every recipe we publish is tested, tasted, and Serious Eats-approved by our staff. Never miss a recipe again by following @SeriousRecipes on Twitter!