mint chocolate brownies

for good buddy of BOOF, ak's, final day of work, i asked him what his ideal dessert he would be. he said well "i love brownies and i love mint chocolate so i guess, mint chocolate brownies". i said, "alright, i'll see what i can do". so ak is essentially a pseudo big bro of BOOF, so i definitely wanted to make this happen but i had never really tried this before but i got to searching on http://www.tastespotting.com and i was met with some delicious options. this is the recipe that i found from another food blog via tastespotting : http://mysweetestdreams.blogspot.com/2008/03/happy-st-patricks-day.html

Ingredients

Brownies
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt

Mint Frosting
1/4 cup softened butter
2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1 1/2 to 3 tbsp milk * I definitely used at least 1/4- 1/3 cup of heavy whipping cream
1/2 tsp peppermint extract * I probably used a 1 tsp of peppermint extract and it really was not too minty
Green food coloring
Chocolate Topping 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips* I used milk chocolate chips because i have a crazy sweet tooth and i know that ak does too. 3 tablespoons of butter

Directions 1 ) Preheat oven to 350 2) Microwave butter and bakers chocolate squares until melted (1 1/2 minute) and stir well. 3) Mix eggs, sugar and salt well in large mixing bowl. Add butter and chocolate mixture and mix well. Add flour and vanilla to bowl and mix well until no chunks remain. 4) Oil baking pan (8x8 or 9x9)5) Add brownie mix to baking pan and bake for 18-22 minutes. 6) Periodically check brownies by sticking with a toothpick until it comes out smooth. 7) When brownies are finished, cool.


Meanwhile...
8) 1/4 cup of softened (not melted) unsalted butter and 2 1/2 cups of confectionary sugar. 9) While mixing, add about 1 tablespoon every 20 seconds or so until it has a nice and icing consistency. 10) Add peppermint extract to the mix and taste occasionally to the peppermint taste is to your liking. 11) Add green food coloring until the color is as deep or pastel as you would like. 12) Cool brownies for another hour or so.


When the brownies plus mint layer are done cooling...
13) Melt butter and chocolate in microwave like above and frost the top layer of the brownies. Let it harden and the cut brownies and serve. 14) ENJOY and SHARE!



So. these were a big hit. however, be forewarned that they are VERY VERY rich (you can probably tell that by the directions), but they are super delicious. they are also a little addicting so prepare yourself by limiting your caloric intake in every other meal for the day so you don't feel like a complete fat kid while eating these. because you will. actually, it is inevitable. but at least you'll feel like a fat kid with something delicious in your belly. :-)