Chocolate Orange Brownies with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

As I was looking at the pile of oranges in my basket wondering what in the world am I going to make with them, in my email box I found this; Chocolate Orange Brownies! YAHOOO! If you like orange flavor, you will LOVE these orange brownies.

FREEZER TIPS: Here are a few freezer tips too for all the left-over oranges. With an entire basket still full of oranges, I decided to zest all the oranges and then squeeze them all for some fresh orange juice. I love to have both in the freezer to use in later recipes. I can tell you this it's worked out wonderful. First zest all of the oranges with your zester and store in a small ziploc container. The zest does not stick together in the freezer and you can use a teaspoon here and there or whenever you need it. Then with the fresh squeezed orange juice, I used an ice cube tray to freeze all the fresh juice. Then later remove the cubes from the tray and store into a ziploc bag. These thaw out very quickly and so when you need a tablespoon of fresh orange juice, it's always on hand.

Chocolate Orange Brownies
recipe found at Gingerbread Bagels

3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 tbsp orange zest
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Sift the flour, unsweetened cocoa powder and kosher salt. Set aside.

In a bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix together the brown sugar, sugar and melted unsalted butter on medium speed for about 3 minutes. Add in the orange zest and mix. Then add in the vanilla extract and mix. Add in the eggs, one at a time. Mix until the eggs are completely incorporated.

Slowly add in the dry ingredients and mix until almost combined. Take a spatula and fold the ingredients together. Add in the chocolate chips and fold them in. Spread the batter into a lightly greased 8 by 8 inch baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes at 350.

Cool the brownies in the pan on a cooling rack. Do not frost them until the brownies have completely cooled. Frosting will melt.

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 tsp freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp orange zest

Sift the powdered sugar and set it aside. In a bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix together the butter and cream cheese for 3 minutes on medium low speed. Add in the orange juice and vanilla extract. Mix. Add in the orange zest and mix again. Slowly add in the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time on low speed. Once the powdered sugar is all added, increase the speed to medium low and mix for about 2-3 minutes until the frosting is smooth.

If the frosting is too thin, place it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes until somewhat firm. Frost the cooled brownies with orange cream cheese frosting and decorate with orange sprinkles.