Minty Mint Chip Brownies

This past Tuesday was round one of the annual Christmas Baking Extravaganza. I've learned over the years that it's best to space it out a bit. Do the mailables first, then locals, then Christmas desserts. It's working, for the most part.

Three out of the five mailables were all things that I've done before. Which definitely made it a bit easier. The biggest problem? Four things needed an 8" pan. Of which I own two. That was fun. :P (Solved by doubling one recipe and then stowing the first dish in the fridge to cool faster)

This one is a slightly altered recipe from one previous this year. Amelia's my twin, and when faced with uncertainty on a baked good, I suggested something minty. Thus, minty brownies.

The batter both tastes and smells delicious. Earlier in the month, I found that Nestle put out some semi-sweet chocolate and mint chips - not swirled, though. But they're pretty enough in the dark chocolate batter. I had the tiniest smidgen of one and really enjoyed the flavor, and promises were made to my dad that more would be made, in order to keep him away from these. (That sentence seems awfully disjointed.)

The picture was a last minute one, right before it was put into the box. And that is my 'tiny' (6') tree in the background. :)



Ingredients:
½ cup butter
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. peppermint extract
3/4 cup flour
1-1½ cups mint and chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. Grease an 8-inch baking dish.

Melt butter and chocolate. Gradually beat into sugar. Add eggs and peppermint. Gradually add flour, beating until well combined. Stir in chips. Spread in prepared pan.

Bake at 325F for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack before cutting into bars. Makes about 16.

Chocolate Mint Brownies

Thus the Christmas Baking has begun. :)

For the select few, I send out baked goods for Christmas, usually something that's specifically chosen for them. For Amelia, my "twin" in both looks and baked goods-taste, chocolate and mint was the first thing that came to mind. And I'm hoping that she won't check out the blog until after she gets this, because these are for her.

I saw these over at Baking Blonde and just fell in love. And what timing, I had just bought the Andes Mints the weekend prior. The only change made to the recipe is in using 8 ounces of just semi-sweet chocolate, since I didn't have any bittersweet. And oh my god, the batter alone is orgasmic. Seriously. Whoever first put chocolate and mint together totally deserves to be sainted.



Ingredients:
6 Tbsp. butter
8 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
¼ tsp. mint extract
¼ tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
¼ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup Andes Mint chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease (or line with parchment) an 8-inch baking dish.

Melt together butter and chcolate in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval until smooth. Allow to cool for 5 mintues.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

Beat the sugar into the chocolate mixture. Add eggs and mint extract, mixing until combined and smooth. Add flour mixture and mix until combined. Gently fold in 3/4 cup Andes chips. Pour batter into prepared pan, and evenly sprinkle remaining Andes chips over the top.

Bake at 350F for 25-20 mintues, or until a cake tester comes out with a few crumbs.
Allow to cool before cutting and serving. Makes 16 brownies.

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.

Thin Mint Cheesecake

Yes, it's that glorious time of the year. The one that people near and far look forward to, pine for, dream of. It's up there with Christmas, Halloween, and birthdays. Yep, you know what I'm talking about: the Girl Scouts are selling their cookies again.

My absolute favorite is the Samoa. Even as a kid, where a lot of kids shy away from coconut, that was just the ultimate. The Thin Mint comes in at a close second. The only thing I don't like about it is that it can get stuck in your teeth.

I came across a recipe on Baking Bites a few weeks ago, involving a no-bake cheesecake with a Thin Mint crust. That looked decent enough, but I'm not a huge fan of no-bake's. So I just went with a basic cheesecake recipe and added some chopped up pieces of cookie into the batter itself, for a cookies and cream affect.

We tried some when Dave got home from work. Not bad. I would prefer a stronger minty taste, rather than just getting the majority of the mint from the crust. Or even more of a chocolate-y taste. Maybe a chocolate cheesecake with the added cookies? We'll see if I can pick up another box. All of my guinea pigs are looking forward to this one, and I hope they'll be pleased. :)



Ingredients:
1½ cups crushed Thin Mints (or you could do a bit more to cover some of the sides)
2 Tbsp. butter

3 pkg. cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
At least half a roll of cookies, cut up or crushed, to stir into batter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F (325F if using a darker pan)

Combine crushed cookies and butter. Press onto the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes.

Beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Add eggs, beating until combined. Gently stir in cookie crumbles. Pour onto cooled crust.

Bake at 350F(/325F) for 40-50 minutes until center is nearly set. Let cool in pan. Refrigerate for at least four hours before serving.

Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies

I really like these. First, the flavor. Whoever put chocolate and mint together needs to be sainted. Second, the color contrast. I used the Mint Swirl morsels from Nestle, and they just compliment the chocolate cookie color so well. They make me happy just looking at them. :)

And, oddly enough, I found a picture that I took last year...



Ingredients:
2¼ cups flour
2/3 cup cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
12 oz. package chocolate/mint swirled morsels

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

Beat butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually add dry ingredients. Stir in swirled morsels. Drop by teaspoonful onto prepared baking sheets.

Bake at 350F for 9-11 minutes. Cool on sheets for 2 minutes, before moving to wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 5-6 dozen.

Mint-Center Brownies

These are pretty much based on the Andes Mint Brownies that I dreamt of a few years ago. Pour half the batter in the pan, put a layer of a thin chocolate, then top it with the remaining batter. After it's fully cooled, the center firms up, and it's like a candy bar in the center. Pretty nifty.

I'm currently in the middle of a weird "everything I attempt goes to hell" phase. These were made earlier in the week, before the cooties attacked. I'm doing just a basic chocolate chip cookie recipe tomorrow. If those aren't up to standards... well, we'll deal with that then. :)



Ingredients:
½ cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa
¼ tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
½ cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 3.5 oz Ghirardelli Intense Dark Mint Bliss chocolate bar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan.

Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

Mix together butter, sugar, and vanilla until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually add flour mixture.

Spread half the batter into bottom of pan. Break apart chocolate bar and place squares as desired. Spread remaining batter (gently) over the chocolate.

Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes.