Foodie Love ♥ I Made Mint Brownies!

Ever since Muddy's mint brownies were featured in Everyday with Rachael Ray, I've been wanting a mint brownie baaaad! I haven't made the trip to get one yet, but I tried my hand at making them at home and they're SO GOOD!! They are kind of fudgy and slightly cakey...perfect for eating warm with ice cream! I had mine with vanilla and the boy had his with peppermint. Mmmmm!

Here's some shots from the whole process:

The recipe is from here:

10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cold large eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Line the bottom and sides of the baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.

Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium heatproof bowl and set the bowl in a wide skillet of barely simmering water. (*I added two shakes of ground nutmeg in this mix because I like the flavor.) Stir from time to time until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth and hot enough that you want to remove your finger fairly quickly after dipping it in to test. Remove the bowl from the skillet and set aside briefly until the mixture is only warm, not hot.

Stir in the vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes. Stir in the nuts if using. Spread evenly in the lined pan.

Bake until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool completely on a rack.

Lift up the ends of the parchment or foil liner, and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. Cut into 16 or 25 squares.

Mint Frosting: (the recipe is from here)

½ c. butter softened 
2 Tbsp. milk
2 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. peppermint extract
green food coloring

Mix all ingredients until smooth. Spread generously onto COOLED brownies before or after cutting. Pop them in the fridge for about 30 minutes to set the frosting.

If you try this recipe let me know how you like it! This one is going to be in heavy rotation in my house :D The boy melted when he took a bite of this sweet treat straight out of the fridge, haha! I love his response to my baking ;)

toodles!

p.s. check out the serene view outside of my kitchen door. I love how woodsy it looks out there...