Chocolate Mint Brownie Sticks

Every Monday (or whatever my first day off that week is) I walk over to the library. Usually I'm just in and out, returning and picking up more books, but today I decided to peruse the cookbook section. Having heard of Maida Heatter before but never making anything from her books, I sat down with her Book of Great Desserts today and proceeded to drool. LOL These caught my eye rather quickly... I'm a firm believer that whoever first put chocolate and mint together deserves to be sainted. I grabbed a pencil and paper and started copying. (Because the copy machine never came to mind. lol)

They come together very easily. I had some concerns, as the color of the batter was a little light. Almost caramel colored, but I popped it in the oven, hoping for the best. They kept that color after baking, too. Instead of mini chocolate chips, I used the Andes Mint Baking Pieces, for an added minty kick. The mint layer came together easily and made me think of Junior Mints. And I finally had a use for the Guittard Unsweetened Chocolate Chips that I bought - woohoo!

Altogether, they're pretty good. Even after being in the fridge for an hour, the brownie base part is very sticky. I had a hard time cutting them apart, between the sticky base and the foil. But they're minty and chocolatey and cool. And incredibly easy to put together.



Ingredients:
2 oz. dark chocolate
½ cup butter
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
¼ tsp. salt
½ tsp. vanilla extract
½ cup all purpose flour
½ cup mini chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9-inch square pan with aluminum foil and lightly grease.

Melt chocolate and butter together in a small bowl in the microwave, stirring after every 30-second interval until smooth. Set aside to cool.

In a mixer bowl, beat eggs with sugar, salt and vanilla extract until smooth. Beat in chocolate mixture, then stir in the flour at low speed. Mix in chocolate chips, then pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake at 350F for 28 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Mint Icing
2 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 Tbsp. milk or cream
½ tsp. peppermint extract

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl until smooth. Spread evenly on cooled chocolate base, then refrigerate for exactly 5 minutes while you make the chocolate glaze.

Chocolate Glaze
1 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 Tbsp. butter

Melt together chocolate and butter in a small bowl, in the microwave, stirring after every 30-second interval until smooth. Immediately pour the chocolate glaze over the chilled base. Tilt the pan around to coat the mint layer as much as possible, or drizzle over evenly. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before removing foil and chocolate bars from pan and cutting into 24 thin bars with a sharp knife.

Sticks can be served at room temperature, but are best when chilled or frozen.