Saturday was a case of “I have a few hours in the kitchen to make non-KISD desserts, how much can I bake for the blog and how fast?”
Of course I had another reason to bake, other than for Matt to have three cupcakes as an afternoon snack. And the reason wasn’t to give me an excuse to eat the last three brownies sliver by sliver until they “magically” disappeared. But Matt was going to a birthday party and I was headed to a housewarming party and apparently when you run a bakery you are expected to bring baked goods. Who knew?
In fact, any time I show up empty handed I get some pretty disappointed faces. Even from our friends and family members on diets, they are always slyly trying to see if I have a plate/box/bag of goodies behind my back.
But I digress. These brownies went to the birthday party and they were a perfect case of “what do I have on hand that needs to be used up?” We had leftover mint buttercream in the freezer that has been taking up valuable real estate for a while and a bag of Andes pieces in the drawer from before the holidays.
Let me tell you, those two items did not go to waste. These brownies were a heavenly combination of fudgy, creamy, rich and minty all at the same time. A few hours after I finished the leftover brownies, I completely regretted not doubling the batch. Looks like the rest of those Andes candies won’t be around for long!
- 3 ounces semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, sliced
- 1⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup Andes crème de menthe pieces or chopped Andes candies
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup creme de menthe
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
- Grease a 9x9 brownie pan or baking dish with cookie spray or butter; set aside
- In a large microwavable bowl, melt chocolate and butter by microwaving in 30-second increments and stirring in-between
- Whisk in sugar until well combined
- Whisk in eggs and vanilla until well combined
- Whisk in four just until combined
- Fold in crème de menthe pieces
- Pour batter into prepared baking dish and bake 25-30 minutes or until a knife comes out clean
- Set brownies aside to cool and prepare buttercream
- Beat butter in the large bowl of an electric mixer on high speed until light and creamy
- Add powdered sugar and crème de Menthe and mix on low until incorporated
- Increase speed to high and mix until filling is light and fluffy
- Spread buttercream over cooled brownies; slice and serve
Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it on Instagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.
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Thick and Fudgy Peppermint Mocha Brownies
Mint Cookies and Cream Buttercream Cups
