I know, I know. I’m late to the St. Patty’s Day gig but I decided to take a few days off my blog and social media to have a little focus for myself. Me time! World not invited! Removing those social media apps from my phone significantly improved my ability to pay attention. Kind of scary.
I did actually make these fudge-y mint brownies on St. Patrick’s Day for Jim, so this is a retroactive post. Jim loves a classic chocolate and mint combo, though he always complains that the ratios are often wrong and it ends up tasting like toothpaste. These brownies managed to get my picky husband’s approval!
They’re triple layer and taste like an Andes Mint. D-I-V-I-N-E. And so springy! When I think about an Easter basket, it’s got three very critical treats: Jolly Rancher Jelly Beans, dark chocolate Cadbury Eggs, and Andes Mints. Okay, and a dark chocolate Ghirardelli bunny.
The brownie layer is just my classic brownie recipe that Jim and I are 100% sure tastes like it’s a box brownie mix, and that’s a very high compliment! The green mint layer is made of cream cheese, powdered sugar, mint extract, and vanilla extract. Go light on the mint extract. A little goes a long way.
The chocolate frosting on top is also simple–melted chocolate chips, heavy cream, and corn syrup. The corn syrup distinguishes it from a regular ganache frosting by making it a little more tacky and malleable. I find regular ganache kind of hard to bite into.
I love the striking contrast of the green mint layer against dark chocolate. White would also look really pretty. Either way! It’s a great spring treat! And my husband refuses to have his photo taken, so he’s just modeling the brownie for me here.
Pro tip: when slicing the brownies, clean your knife between each cut. That will give you the pretty, Instagram-worthy profile of your brownie. Otherwise, the chocolate can get dragged into the green layer and look smeared.
Mint Chocolate Brownies
Ingredients
Brownies
- 2 oz Semi-sweet chocolate
- 4 tbsp Salted butter
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1 Egg
- 1 Egg yolk
- 6 tbsp Dutch processed cocoa powder
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- ¼ cup Milk
- ¼ cup Vegetable oil
- ¾ cup All purpose flour
- ½ cup Semi-sweet chocolate chips
Mint Filling
- 4 oz Cream cheese softened to room temperature
- 2 cups Powdered sugar sifted
- ½ tsp Vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp Mint extract
- 2 tbsp Heavy whipping cream
- 3 drops Green food color or gel optional
Chocolate Frosting
- ⅔ cup Semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ¼ cup Heavy whipping cream
- 1 tbsp Light corn syrup
Instructions
Brownies
- Preheat oven to 350°F / 175°C. Spray an 8" x 8" baking pan with non-stick spray and line with parchment paper so there is an overhang on two sides.
- Melt butter and 2 oz of semi-sweet chocolate in a large microwave-safe bowl, approximately 30 seconds on high power. Stir to combine completely.
- Add to the butter-chocolate mixture the egg, egg yolk, sugar, cocoa, and vanilla. Mix again to combine.
- Last add the milk, vegetable oil, flour, and chocolate chips, mixing to combine. Pour batter into 8" x 8" pan and bake for 30 minutes. Cool completely.
Mint Filling
- While brownies are baking, prepare the mint filling. Using an electric hand mixer, beat cream cheese and powdered sugar until silky smooth. Add in the vanilla, mint, cream, and food coloring, if using, and beat until well combined.
- When brownies are done cooling, spread filling over them and place in the freezer while preparing the chocolate frosting.
Chocolate Frosting
- Combine chocolate chips and cream in a microwave-safe bowl. Melt in 30-second intervals, stirring between them until melted. Add in corn syrup and stir well.
- Pour over mint layer and transfer the pan to the refrigerator. Allow the mint and frosting layers to set at least 2 hours in the refrigerator before cutting. Clean knife between cuts for neat edges.