Brownies on a Snowy Day

So we were kind of hit with a blizzard over the past few days. It was a little challenging to get out of the house.

Okay, it was really challenging to get out of the house.

So what do you do when you are stuck at home?

I read, I watch TV and movies, I hang out with my family, I work on homework :(

But luckily we have some great neighbors who just moved back in down the street this summer after being over seas for three years. They invited us down for a warm turkey dinner, so I decided, what better to do then to bake something chocolate to bring?

After much deliberation and scrolling through too many Buzzfeed lists of mouthwateringly beautiful cookies, I decided on brownies. I love brownies. But this time I wanted to add my own twist, something more interesting. 

I love mint. So why not make mint brownies? But no one in my family really likes your typical mint brownies, with green frosting thickly sitting on top. So I decided to try to make my own mint topping.

First, I made normal brownies from my family's favorite recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup flour, sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 6 ounces, semisweet chocolate chips

The recipe makes 24 squares, so I typically double it. I personally like the amount of chocolate chips, but my family thinks a little less could work better.

The recipe also calls for

• 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts, but I don't put these in because I'm allergic to them! Also, not sure how well they would go with mint.
• 1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, but these are just for a topping, which you don't need for mint brownies

Alright, on to the cooking instructions.

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9 x 13 glass baking pan (if doubling) or an 8 inch square glass baking pan (if going with original).
2. Melt the butter and chocolate together in a double boiler or in microwave. Cool ten minutes.
3. Add sugar, flour, baking powder, and vanilla. Stir until well combined.
4. Add eggs and mix well.
5. Stir in chocolate chips (and walnuts if you are using them).
6. Spread batter into prepared pan.
7. Bake for 30 minutes or until done. (Mine took about 35 minutes).

So these brownies came out of the oven looking fluffy and yummy. But I still wanted to add something a little bit more. 

I hadn't found anything on the internet for mint brownies without frosting, so I thought, 'Why not make mint whipped cream that people could put on as they want?' Delicious, right? Problem: We did not have whipping cream. Problem: We could not go get whipping cream, as the whole street was covered in what looked like 2 feet of whipping cream. Okay, next idea?

I decided to make your typical buttercream frosting, but add in some chocolate and some mint. I used a recipe I found cooking last weekend. It makes three cups of frosting and requires quite a lot of sugar, so I quartered it (only made a fourth of what it called for?).

My version:

• 1/8 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/8 cup confectioners' (powdered) sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 to 2 1/2 tablespoons milk
• A tiny bit of half and half

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, beat butter until creamy. Beat in the confectioners' sugar, vanilla, and enough milk to achieve desired constistency.

On to the mint chocolate modifications.

After this point, nothing was very exact, so if something doesn't taste right, keep fiddling with it until it does.

First, I put in about 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract. Then I melted chocolate chips in a cup in the microwave. When the chocolate was liquid, I stirred it into the frosting. Tasted it, and it tasted weird. So I put in some more chocolate and some peppermint sugar sprinkles. Still tasted weird. Aah, cooking is an art. So I put in even more chocolate and a couple squirts of whipped cream from a can. (Don't know if that was necessary.) I think at this point it tasted pretty good, but if its not to your taste, just keep adding chocolate or peppermint until you're happy.

I then put the thick frosting in the fridge. We walked down to our neighbors' house. After dinner, I decided to frost the brownies because by now they were cool. Always wait until your brownies are cool. The frosting was almost as thick as ice cream, so I decided to put it in the microwave for twenty seconds.

It came out pretty liquidy, and not at all frosting like. With the advice of my mom, I decided to spread it on the brownies anyway. Then I sprinkled some more of the peppermint sugars on top. I stuck the brownies in the fridge and waited.

When we took them out for dessert, the chocolate ganache topping had hardened and was a nice thin layer of thicker chocolate on top of the brownies. It was perfect.

As you can see, they were pretty popular.

And now I have a wonderful recipe for the next time we get snowed in.~