I’m in a pickle.
You see, I have these friends on Instagram. We went to school together and they’re really nice. Some of them had a baby awhile ago, and trust me, I know they had a baby because that is ALL THEY POST.
Like, all the time.
I’m not even joking you. Constant bombardment of baby pictures daily, hourly, minutely. I wish I were kidding.
Pictures of her baby breathing. Pictures of her baby sleeping. Pictures of her baby rolling, kicking, crying, blinking, mid-blinking, mid-breathing, giggling, eating, drinking, staring, being a baby, pictures of everything related to the baby. Pictures of the baby’s clothes. Of its toys. Of its room. Of it and everything the baby has touched. Constant influx of pictures, pictures, and more freakin’ pictures.
It’s to the point where, no matter what time of day I scroll through IG, I see at least 10 posts from her and her baby. More pictures of the same damn baby.
I get it. You cheated death by birthing a human from your body. I’m sure it was glorious and angels sang in the midst of your sweating and pushing. Congrats. And I’m sure that you’re proud of this entity that you’ve created and want to shout from the rooftops that you love your child. But honestly? Not everyone wants to see incessant photos of your baby mid-blink with the caption “Blinking! <3”
I know what a baby looks like when it blinks. Is it the cutest thing in the world? No. Do my ovaries explode when I see no less than 5,457,358 baby pictures on Instagram? Certainly not. In fact, it’s more like birth control, because if I ever end up as a mom like that, I want someone to dropkick my eyeballs with stilettos.
And I’m in this pickle because I like these people enough but dammit, those baby pictures are clogging my feed and honestly making me snappy. I shouldn’t want to call Instagram and have them ban this woman’s account. I shouldn’t want to scroll extra fast past this baby’s poor face. I shouldn’t want to have to unfollow my friends but damn, they sure make it hard.
So there’s my pickle. And in pickles, I tend to conquer my fears by eating them. Tomato, tomahto.
The idea for these No-Bake Texas Sheetcake Bites came to me when I was craving sheetcake frosting but didn’t want to turn the oven on since it’s been 100 degrees here lately. I was trying to think of a vessel I could slather that heavenly, sugary frosting on besides a spoon, and brownie bites came to mind – you know, the ones from the store bakery? Those are the perfect, poppable vessel for holding this substantial, chocolaty frosting.
And don’t worry. I’ll only Instagram this once.
- About 30 pre-made, packaged brownie bites (find these in your local grocery store's bakery)
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 5 Tbsp cocoa powder
- 5 Tbsp milk or heavy cream
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- About 1 cup chopped pecan pieces
- Line up the brownie bites onto a large rimmed sheet pan in an even layer. Set aside.
- In a large saucepan, melt together the butter, cocoa powder, and milk over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it comes to a boil. Immediately remove from the heat and stir in the powdered sugar and vanilla until a glossy, thick frosting is achieved. Stir in the pecans quickly.
- Drop heaping Tablespoonfuls of frosting on top of each brownie bite. It's okay if the frosting falls down the sides of the brownie bite; these are not pretty desserts but they are tasty! Allow the frosting to harden and set for about 20-30 minutes before serving. Store leftovers airtight at room temperature for up to 5 days.
I mean, are these heavenly or are they heavenly? Simply amazing! I love the classic sheetcake frosting: it’s ultra rich, super chocolaty and buttery soft. Plus, the salty crunch of the pecans is just perfect against these tiny, fudgy brownie bites. The perfect bite for days when turning on the oven isn’t an option!
Hope you have a fantastical day!
xo, Hayley
Erin @ Miss Scrambled Egg says
Hayley – People go crazy with the amount of pictures that they post of 1) their babies 2) their workout selfies 3) their new relationships. I have experienced all three on my own IG feed and it gets out of control. I think these sheetcake bites would take my mind off of people’s photo obsessions. 😀
thedomesticrebel says
OMG. Workout selfies. YES, totally!!
Sophia @ NY Foodgasm says
I LOVE that you had the guts to write this post, LMAO!! I kinda feel the same way with 1,000,000 babies everywhere when I am undecided on that proposition. Part of me thinks I would take ALL the pictures because of how I am with food! LOL! But you never really know.
thedomesticrebel says
Right? I just cannot handle all the pictures all the time. I need to do an unfollowing spree methinks.
Alicia says
You know, once upon a time, I could relate to how you feel. In my twenties I didn’t want kids. I had a horrible childhood, loved my freedom and couldn’t fathom the idea of bringing another baby into this already bloated world. I got so annoyed over the years of all the women I knew popping out babies and becoming obsessed with them. I hated being invited to kids parties and of course I never went. Why would a twenty something with no kids go to a kids party? Then, in my thirties my prospective changed. I had a solid relationship, I had a chance to do some traveling in the world and it was an experience I felt I didn’t want to miss out on. I’m not at all saying every women will feel this way and I firmly believe we should respect everyone’s decision to have or not have children but I can now understand how that Mom feels. Having a child changed me. I felt a love and pride I never knew I was capable of and I feel that my baby is the cutest baby there is but I also know that every Mom feels this way about her baby. I do my best to reign in the baby pics but I find it very hard. I want to save every memory I can so I can look back and remember how amazing it was. Isn’t that was instagram is all about? The great thing about being in charge of our own social media is you can follow or not. I would suggest just UN-following her. What if she finds this post is realizes it is her your writing about and is incredibly hurt? My point is that some times it’s not so easy to relate to how someone else lives their life until you are in their position. Any maybe you never will be and that’s okay but this post comes across a little judgmental.
thedomesticrebel says
Alicia, you’re totally right. Right now I’m at a place where I don’t understand the whole having-kids thing just because I don’t have them and don’t want them at this point in my life. It isn’t that I don’t like kids; they’re fine – I just don’t think I need to be bombarded with pictures constantly. It’s one thing for parents to want to take pictures of everything and savor every memory, but another to broadcast every single action and photograph to the world constantly.
Emily says
I love the simplicity of these! YUM! This recipe is a keeper =)
thedomesticrebel says
Thanks a ton, Emily!
Nicole says
Ughhh. I can totally relate to your IG problem. I am a Mom, so I feel like I can say this: For the Love of God STOP posting So Many Pics of your Kids!!! I don’t mind if they are interesting. But, the whole ‘lets post a pic of my kid sitting the couch watching tv’. WHY!?! Of course, at the same time I think people should post whatever they want on their IG. But we also have the right to unfollow. Okay, I’m done. For now. Btw, the brownie bites look awesome!!!
thedomesticrebel says
I’m glad you’re on my side, Nicole!!
Rachel @ Baked by Rachel says
Can you believe I’ve never had Texas sheet cake – ever?! I definitely need these bites in my life asap 😉 I’m with you there on the IG issue … some people need to know sharing less is okay.
thedomesticrebel says
I’m not even from Texas and I’ve had Texas sheetcake. Girl, you must remedy that ASAP!
Aimee @ ShugarySweets says
Haha, first, love that you used store bought brownie bites!! GENIUS. I crave this frosting often 🙂
Second, I’m dying about the baby. I can’t imagine what life would have been like for me if instagram was around when I was popping out kids. ONE: I’d probably have more photos than I do (I’m a terrible photographer of my kids…millions of food photos to one pic of a child). TWO: I may have overcompensated my lack of photographing kids by displaying one million pics of them on instagram. Haha!!! We’ll never know…
thedomesticrebel says
Right?! I cannot imagine if my parents had IG when we were growing up as kids. That would have been a little much back then too! Thank goodness for dusty photo albums, am I right?
Liz says
Oh, I could just drink this frosting! What a terrific idea for a quick dessert!!!
thedomesticrebel says
You and me both! Thanks Liz!
Julianne @ Beyond Frosting says
I know, I totally want to unfollow some people on my IG feed and then I feel guilty. Like are they going to KNOW that I unfollowed them?? I could get over it after a few of these brownie bites!
thedomesticrebel says
I think you’re right. Have a few brownie bites and move on!
Tonia from TheGunnySack says
Yup, I unfollow anyone who posts anything obsessively to IG. If I see three Disney posts in a row…that’s too much! Four pics of your son’s baseball game in a row…unfollow. I’m ruthless but I guess that’s the beauty of IG! These sheetcake bites make me want to double follow you though!
thedomesticrebel says
You are ruthless but I love it! I cannot handle the constant obsessiveness of IG sometimes. Glad I’m not the only one!
Kelly - Life Made Sweeter says
Haha,these sheetcake bites are awesome!:) So easy and I love that I won’t have to turn on my oven!
thedomesticrebel says
Right? So awesome that they’re ovenless!
Laura @ Laura's Culinary Adventures says
Yum! These are worth a few instagram posts!
thedomesticrebel says
🙂
Jessica @ A Kitchen Addiction says
Wow, love the look of that frosting!
thedomesticrebel says
Thanks Jessica – the frosting IS amazing!
Alice @ Hip Foodie Mom says
I’m a mom and I agree with you. . too many baby photos can get annoying. . but that’s what I use FB for. . so I’m only annoying on FB and not IG. #itallmakessensetome 😛 LOVE these texas sheetcake bites! I want 20!!!
thedomesticrebel says
Thanks Alice! I totally wish I had 20 more lying around!
Mir says
Preach, sister! I cannot deal with the TMI about baby stuff. Or even worse, the selfies people snap of themselves in workout gear (usually sports bras) getting skinnier. It’s really irritating. Do they have any idea how self-absorbed they look? Or how much we just. Don’t. Care?
This frosting. I am digging this frosting. Want a giant heap of it with spoon now, please.
thedomesticrebel says
Mir, I am tooootally with you on the workout selfies thing! I’m so sick of seeing them!
Mona knows best says
Coming back to say thank you for the lovely recipe. made this for my daughter’s birthday party.
she and her friends really enjoyed it. should be coming back for more recipe. i also bookmarked your website. thanks again <3 for helping me put a big smile on my daughter's face..
have a great day.
What men secretly want lady
thedomesticrebel says
Mona, I’m so glad your daughter loved the sheetcake bites! Thanks so much for writing in 🙂 Enjoy!
Jocelyn @BruCrew Life says
Pass me a few of these awesome little treats. I love that you used already made brownie bites…genius!!! And I’m with you on posting too many pics on social media…take all the pics you want, but don’t share all the dang pics!!! Of course my camera and phone are full of mostly food pics…my poor kiddos!
Kayle (The Cooking Actress) says
ooooh I actually like these bites better than full on texas sheetcake! so pretty and tasty!!
and….here’s hoping I don’t become one of those moms. I know that I’m at risk. I’ll do my best to not fall prey *fingers crossed*
thedomesticrebel says
I’m sure you’ll be fine! 🙂
JAshton says
Made them tonight! They were delicious!
thedomesticrebel says
I’m so glad you loved them Judy!!
Jeanie Edmonds says
I haven’t tried them but they certainly look delicious and making my mouth water. Yummy.
thedomesticrebel says
Thanks Jeanie! You’ll love them!
Heather says
I just wanted the recipe! My goodness, I thought I’d landed on the wrong page. Sheesh! If you don’t like what she posts, don’t follow her and blog about it somewhere other than on a recipe post!