Chocolate Shooters Two Ways - Easy

For Chanukah, my sons gave me 2 sets of shooter glasses.  One set of 12 resembles ice tea glasses shrunk down, the other 12 like regular-size shot glasses.

So I thought, they are tiny enough that one mousse recipe could fill 'em all and still have enough left over for the cook.

Sweet!

But 24 mini servings of mousse is just so boring.  Hey, why not make two different desserts?














One made with crumbled mini-brownies (home-made preferably) and one with crumbled graham crackers.  Oooh, nice job, Mom!

Mini-brownies are recommened since they are almost all crust.  The crunchiness is a nice contrast to the soft mousse.

I have an adaptation of a Kraft mousse pie recipe that is similar to the Pioneer Woman's version I made a while back.  I had forgotten about it when I saw PW's, but shush the following is heresy!  I like Kraft's better.  Sorry, I happen to like semi-sweet chocolate better than that of the milk persuasion.  Don't get me wrong, I liked PW's very very much.  Just happen to like the following one better.  Oops, two.

Chocolate Shooters Two Ways - Easy
 based on a recipe from Kraft Foods
makes 24 servings, plus a normal-size serving leftover

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup evaporated milk (or whole milk)
4 mini-brownies (store-bought or home-made)
2 graham crackers
2 tsp. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tub (8 ozs.) whipped topping, thawed (low-fat okay)
whipped cream (to garnish, optional)














In a one-quart size microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips with the milk.  Nuke for 1 minute.














Stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth.  Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally to prevent lumps and to help the cooling process.














While waiting for the chocolate to cool, crumble up 2 of the brownies into half of the serving glasses.














On a medium size plate (because it's easier this way), squash up the graham crackers into very small pieces.  No need to completely crush them.


















 Then drop some of the pieces into the rest of the serving glasses.  Set all glasses aside.














Stir sugar and vanilla into the cooled chocolate. 

Spoon about a quarter or so of the whipped topping into the chocolate to lighten it (cook-speak for loosening it up or making it easier to stir. Might even refer to the color, but I think it's just a coincidence).

Then gently fold the rest of the topping into the chocolate until no streaks remain.

The glasses are tiny, so unless you have surgeons's hands, ladling the mousse into the teensy-weensy glasses will be a mess.  Use the spatula to trowel the mousse into a large plastic bag.














Twist the top of the bag shut, then carefully squeeze the mousse down into the corner of the bag. Snip off a corner of the bag, then pipe the mousse into the glasses almost to the top.














Don't be afraid!  It's fun, really.  Especially when you squeeze the leftover mousse directly into your mouth the cook's larger serving bowl later.

Crumble the remaining brownies into the glasses with brownie in the base, then sprinkle the remaining graham crackers into the other ones.  Or vice versa.  Your desserts ... your choices.  This is America, baby!

If desired, finish off with a dollop of whipped cream.

If not serving right away, omit the whipped cream topping.  Cover with tiny squares of plastic wrap and store in refrigerator up to three days.  Then add the whipped cream.