Mint Brownies

With Halloween over, all the candy is on sale at the drug stores. So now's the time to make baked goods that call for candy. These mint brownies use both York Peppermint Patties and Andes Mints. Truth be told, I've been in the mood to make mint brownies for awhile now, and the recipe I had selected didn't have candy in it, but peppermint extract instead. And for some reason, I was under the impression I already owned peppermint extract. I was wrong. :(

So I looked for other mint brownie recipes that could get around the lack of extract and still taste minty. The solution was to use mint-flavored candy. But next time I go to Trader Joe's, I'll pick up the peppermint extract. My pantry feels a little less than well-stocked in the meantime.


Mint Brownies
Recipe is actually a combination of two recipes: one from my cousin Rachael and the other from a Bars & Brownies recipe booklet by Better Homes and Gardens
Makes 16 to 20 brownies

Brownies
1/2 cup butter
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, cut up
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/4 tsp. mint extract or vanilla extract
2/3 cup all-purpose flour

18 York Peppermint Patties (an 11.4 oz. bag should work perfectly)

Green Frosting
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
2 tablespoons green creme de menthe OR 2 tablespoons heavy cream (can use milk instead) and 2 drops green food coloring

Decoration
7 Andes Mints or other Layered chocolate-mint candies, chopped
1 oz. semisweet chocolate, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 9x9x2-inch baking pan; set aside.

In medium heavy saucepan, stir 1/2 cup butter and unsweetened chocolate over low heat just until melted. Remove from heat. Stir in granulated sugar, eggs, and mint or vanilla extract. Using wooden spoon, lightly beat just until combined. Stir in flour.

Spread batter in prepared pan. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Immediately after baking, place the peppermint patties on brownies. Return to oven 3 to 4 minutes or until patties are softened. Spread evenly over brownies with an offset spatula; cool completely. Frost with the Green Frosting.

To make the Green Frosting: In medium mixing bowl, beat 1/4 cup butter with electric mixer on low to medium speed until fluffy. Gradually add 1 cup of the powdered sugar. Beat in creme de menthe or milk and food coloring. Gradually beat in remaining powdered sugar to make frosting of spreading consistency.

To decorate the brownies: Press the chopped Andes mints into the green frosting and drizzle the melted semisweet chocolate on top.

Cut brownies into triangles or bars.

Step-by-Step in Pictures

Pumpkin Praline Brownies

I got a much later start than I would have liked for Pumpkin-Everything-Time-of-Year. Hopefully I'll make up for it in record time. Do you have any idea how much I love pumpkin? A lot. Enough to have two pumpkin stuffed "animals" on my coffee table until we move into winter food season. Enough to buy 10 cans of pumpkin with no specific plans to use them, just the knowledge that I am sure I'll get around to it.

Tonight, I made Pumpkin Praline Brownies. Well, brownies they are not. But they are delicious, and sweet, and perfect for this pumpkin-loving girl. The recipe includes a cream cheese frosting that I skipped for a combination of health and laziness reasons. And honestly, these bars don't need the frosting; they are stand-alone yummy.


Pumpkin Praline Brownies
Recipe from The Brownie Experience by Lisa Tanner

2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup honey
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon each salt, baking soda, and ginger
1/4 teaspoon each cloves and allspice
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
3/4 cup butterscotch chips

Creamy Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe follows)
32 pecan halves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 13 x 9 x 2" pan.

Cream together eggs, butter, sugar, honey and pumpkin. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, ginger, cloves, and allspice. Slowly add dry ingredients to creamed mixture, stirring just to combine. Fold in chopped pecans and butterscotch chips. Pour batter into pan.

Bake about 25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.

Spread with Creamy Cream Cheese Frosting, then let set to harden.

Mark into bars and press a pecan half in center of each brownie. Chill, then cut through into bars.

Makes 32 brownies


Creamy Cream Cheese Frosting

1 3-oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon cream or milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Cream together cheese, cream (or milk), and vanilla. Gradually add sugar, beating until smooth. Add more cream or milk, if necessary, to achieve a spreading consistency.


Step-by-Step in Pictures

Orangey Mocha Brownies

Two flavors I love: orange and coffee. And since pretty much anything goes with chocolate (contemplating mustard and chocolate right now...yeah...maybe not anything), this was a take on a brownie I wanted to try. Turned out to be delicious. I was inspired by one of those checkout stand recipe booklets, and from there, played around with ingredient measurements and substitutions.

I love the busy-ness of this brownie, waking you up with a spurt of citrus and coffee flavor, but also with the unexpectedness of chopped chocolate folded in. There's a lot happening with each bite, but I'm happy to multi-task.

Oh, and if you know of some surprisingly stellar mustard and chocolate flavored something-or-other, by all means, prove me wrong, send me the recipe!

Orangey Mocha Brownies
Makes 24 brownies

2/3 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. instant coffee crystals (or dare to use actual ground coffee)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chopped semisweet chocolate (or chocolate chips)
1 heaping tablespoon finely shredded orange peel
Powdered sugar (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 8x8x2-inch baking pan; set aside.
2. In medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in cocoa powder and coffee crystals. Remove from heat. Stir in granulated sugar. Stir in eggs, one at a time, and vanilla. Beat lightly with wooden spoon just until combined. Stir in salt and flour. Stir in chopped chocolate and orange peel.
3. Spread batter into prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Cool in pan on wire rack. If desired, sift powdered sugar over top of brownies. Cut into triangles or bars.

Step-by-Step in Pictures

Fudgy Chocolate Marshmallow Brownies

How's that for a recipe title?

Yeah, these are really really good. First you make the brownie layer, then make the frosting, then chill and serve chilled. So fudgy. And isn't the cross section neat? Extra tall and elegantly dotted with white pieces of marshmallow. With rich brownies like this, you'll want to cut them pretty small. I made 70 squares instead of the recipe's suggested 40. You can always take seconds if necessary! I am in love with this recipe.

Brownies for Shabbat?
If you make the brownies for Shabbat, they come out great exchanging the butter with margarine. And if you can't find pareve unsweetened chocolate (which was my issue this weekend), try this:
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate = 3/4 cup cocoa powder plus 4 tablespoons of margarine
If you're doing the math in your head right now, yes, that's a heck of a lot of margarine for one recipe. Don't do the math. :)



Fudgy Chocolate Marshmallow Brownies
Recipe from my cousin Rachael

Brownies
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 cup butter
4 eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13x9 baking pan. In a large saucepan, combine chocolate and butter. Heat over low heat until melted and smooth, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Beat in eggs, granulated sugar, vanilla and salt until thoroughly blended. Stir in flour, blending well. Spread evenly in bottom of greased baking pan. Bake 25-30 minutes. Brownies should be moist. Do not over-bake. Cool in pan. Meanwhile, prepare Chocolate-Marshmallow Frosting. Chill cookies before cutting into bars. Store in refrigerator. Makes 40 (1 3/4 x 1 1/2 inch) brownies.

Chocolate-Marshmallow Frosting
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 cup butter
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 1-lb. pkg. powdered sugar (3 3/4 cups)
4 cups miniature marshmallow

In a medium saucepan, combine chocolate and butter. Heat over low heat until melted and smooth, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Add eggs, vanilla and powdered sugar, beating until smooth. Stir in marshmallows.

San Quentin Fudge Bars

I was in the mood to bake, and fast. So, I found just about the easiest recipe from a cookbook I hadn't-until-tonight opened, and got to baking. What caught my eye, besides the simplicity of the recipe, was its name. San Quentin Fudge Bars? What the heck is a name like that doing in the Ghirardelli Original Chocolate Cookbook? Even if the prison is located just north of San Francisco (Ghirardelli's hometown), for heaven's sake, these are fudge bars, not porridge. But I quickly came to and decided, well, even prisoners need chocolate. Plus, Johnny Cash gave a great performance there.



A couple of caveats on the recipe: While it says you can melt the chocolate and shortening together in the microwave or over the stove, be very very careful not to burn the chocolate. This is where a double boiler would come in handy, but if you'd rather not, go ahead and use direct heat from the stove, but take the mixture off the burner before the chocolate is fully melted, and just stir until it completely melts. I can tell you right now that otherwise, you WILL burn the chocolate. Also, as with all recipes that call for nuts, you should toast them before adding them in. I don't know why so many recipes just say add nuts; they are ten times better toasted first.


San Quentin Fudge Bars
Recipe in Ghirardelli Original Chocolate Cookbook

1 package (6 oz.) Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup shortening
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup chopped nuts (Marni says please toast these!!!)

In heavy saucepan or microwave oven, melt chocolate with shortening. Remove from heat. With wire whip, blend in brown sugar. Beat eggs lightly with vanilla and salt; stir into chocolate mixture in pan. Mix flour with baking powder. Add, all at once, beating until smooth. Spread into greased 9-inch square pan. Sprinkle nuts over top. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. Cool before cutting into bars. Makes 32 cookies.

King Arthur Flour Fudgy Brownies

In King Arthur Flour's Cookie Companion cookbook, they give you options. If you're looking for a chocolate chip cookie, choose between The Essential Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie or the Classic Crunchy Chocolate Chip Cookie. I personally would always prefer chewy over crunchy, but I have plenty of crunchy friends who aren't from Berkeley. With brownies, choose between fudgy and cakey. Honestly, you can't go wrong with brownies, but since we're nitpicking here and we are in the auspicious position to have exactly what we want, I made Fudgy Brownies. The name couldn't be more spot on. Fudgy with a capital F!!!!

Fudgy Brownies
Recipe from The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion
Yields two dozen 2-inch brownies

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks, 6 oz.) unsalted butter
2 cups (14 oz.) sugar
1 cup (3 oz.) Dutch process cocoa powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 cup (4 1/4 oz.) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup (4 oz.) chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
1 cup (6 oz.) chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch pan.

In a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl, or in a medium saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter, then add the sugar and stir to combine. Return the mixture to the heat (or microwave) briefly, just until it's hot (110 to 120 degrees F), but not bubbling; it will become shiny looking as you stir it. Heating this mixture a second time will dissolve more of the sugar, which will yield a shiny top crust on your brownies.

Stir in the cocoa, salt, baking powder, and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs, stiring until smooth, then add the flour and nuts and chips, again stirring until smooth. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake the brownies for 29 to 32 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, or with just a tiny amount of crumb clinging to it. The edges of the brownies should be set, but the center still soft. Remove the brownies from the oven and cool on a rack before cutting and serving.

The Lori Longbotham Brownie

Look at what cookbook author Lori Longbotham has gone and done. She made me write a stupid poem. Fortunately, a little corniness never hurt anyone. Just in case, sorry if this hurts...


Marni's Ode to the Lori Longbotham Brownie

Glorious Lori Longbotham, my friend.
Thanks for adding padding to my rear end.

Your brownies are heaven. They're buttery and dense.
With just a quarter cup flour, the chocolate's intense.

Everything I've made from your cookbook is great.
(though slows down my basal metabolic rate) :-(

I've still got a long way to go till I'm done
Trying all of your recipes, then repeat, rerun.

But for now, a brownie is all that I need.
Ahh, the simple sweet life I lead.

Uh oh, the brownie's putting me in cardiac arrest!
And before this gets too out of hand, I'll put the corniness to rest.

---

Katharine Hepburn's Brownies
Recipe by the fabulous Lori Longbotham in Luscious Chocolate Desserts
Makes 9 large brownies.

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup walnuts, chopped

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and flour an 8-inch square baking pan.

Melt the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of about 1 1/2 inches of nearly simmering water, whisking until smooth. Remove the bowl from the heat, add the sugar, eggs, and vanilla, and whisk until well blended. Whisk in the flour and salt just until well blended. Stir in the walnuts. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan.

Bake for 40 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out sticky, with just a few crumbs clinging to it, but is not wet; do not overbake.

Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Chill if you have the time, then cut into 9 brownies.