Peppermint Brownies


I used to hate peppermint. And not just the little kid hate where you don't like the idea of it, but if it is in something you will still eat it. I refused to eat anything mint flavor. Well, a couple of years, I finally gave it another try and discovered that I absolutely adore peppermint, especially peppermint and chocolate. So of course, I have been experimenting. My mom found this peppermint brownie recipe a few years ago and we have been using it ever since. I added a little more peppermint to the recipe so it had a little extra kick :). The recipe is actually pretty similar to any other brownie recipe, you just add peppermint extract instead of some of the vanilla. You do the same thing in the icing so the brownies themselves as well as the icing are both peppermint flavor. Although peppermint is typically considered kind of festive, these are great all year round and will give your brownies a unique touch!
Plus, if you want some of these, you can buy some through Lefty Baking Life


Ingredients: 
14 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp peppermint extract
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup white chocolate chips

Frosting: 
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 cup crushed candy canes (six regular size canes)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350. Line a 9 x9 inch baking pan with parchment paper and make sure it comes up relatively high so the sides of the brownies don't stick.
Melt the butter and bittersweet chocolate chips together in the microwave on 50% power for 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds until combined.
Beat together the eggs, sugar, peppermint extract, and vanilla until smooth. Add the cooled chocolate mixture and continue mixing until well blended.
Add flour and salt to the batter mixing gently until well combined and no trace of the dry ingredients remain. Don't over mix it. Stir in the white chocolate chips by hand.
Spred the brownie batter evenly in the prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with only crumbs. If your oven is slow like mine, it might take closer to 30 minutes so just watch them closely. Let the brownies cool in the pan. I put mine in the fridge so they were really cold when I iced them.

Icing:
Put the candy canes in a plastic bag and pound with a hammer or rolling pin until they are crushed into tiny pieces. This is kinda finicky work because you don't want it to be a powder, but you don't want the pieces to be so big you can't take a bit. Just experiment a little but don't go over board.
Combine powdered sugar, butter, vanilla, and peppermint extract in a a bowl and mix until combined. Add in cream and beat until it is a spreadable consistency. Spread over the top of the cooled brownies and then cover with crushed candy canes.
Refrigerate to let the icing set and then remove from the pan and cut. 
This makes about 16 depending on the size you cut them!

Until next time...