Andes Mint Brownies

So EVERYBODY loves a brownie, right? And who doesn't love those little Andes mints you get after dinner at a fancy restaurant?? This recipe combines the best of both worlds. I found the recipe on the My Baking Addiction blog, but it definitely needed some adjustments.

So if you want to cheat (a la Aunt Sandy's Semi-Homemade), don't make the brownies from scratch and just buy the boxed brownie mix. Make according to directions, bake in a 8" or 9" square pan, lined with foil, foil sprayed heavily with Pam, and let cool completely. Then start the recipe at the green mint section.

Andes Mint Brownies
Brownies:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 1/4 cups granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

First, line your square pan with aluminum foil (up the sides too) and Pam the foil like it's your day job. I made the mistake of not Pamming the foil, and it was a real bitch to get the foil off the brownies at the end of it all. It's easiest to use two longer sheets to get the the foil up the sides.

In a double-boiler, melt the chocolate and butter.

 
Take off the heat, and add in the sugar and vanilla.

Add in eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each one.

Stir in the flour and salt.

Bake at 325F for 20-25 minutes. (Less if you want chewier brownies!)

Let cool completely in the pan.

Next, you want to make the minty topping:)

Mint Topping
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1 – 1 1/2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
green food coloring

Mix all ingredients in your mixer until well mixed. Spread over the cooled brownies. Place in fridge 30 minutes or until minty mixture is set.

Chocolate Glaze
3 ounces semisweet chocolate
1 tablespoon heavy cream

Melt both in double boiler. Spread over minty layer. Note: The original recipe calls for butter, not cream, but when I made these with butter, and the chocolate firmed up, it got super hard. Then when I went to cut them the chocolate cracked and it was a TOTAL mess. They looked terrible and it was just bad. So, instead of using butter, if you use cream, the chocolate mixture won't harden all the way to cracking stage. It's totally up to you if you want to use the butter (1 tablespoon), but DON'T!! Use the cream. DO IT. OR ELSE. :) Also, I had to make a little extra chocolate because the amount above wasn't enough. It only covered about 2/3 of the top. So, maybe you should up it to 5 ounces to be on the safe side. (If you want to fancy these up a little, you can garnish the top with chopped Andes mints while the chocolate is still wet.)

So let the chocolate set for a few hours, I did mine in the fridge, as I mentioned before. Once the chocolate is set, get a cutting board, and flip the whole pan over on the board. Peel the foil off (this should be easier since you Pammed your foil, unlike me). Get a really big sharp knife, and cut the brownies. These are super rich (especially if you didn't cheat and made the brownies from scratch), so I cut my 8" pan into 16 brownies. But if you cut them smaller, it would probably be okay too.

Take these to work or a party, and I guarantee they'll be a hit! I made them for St Patrick's Day (thus the green), but they'll definitely work for ANY occasion. Enjoy!

(See how ugly these turned out with the hard chocolate?? DO THE CREAM!)