Happy Birthday
Heath!
This treat is for you!
Truth be told… I have
no idea if you like mint or brownies, but since it’s your birthday (and St. Paddy’s day) I thought I’d dedicate this treat to you. I know you
try to keep your sweets to a minimum so I cut these very small (1 inch squares). This way, if you can resist eating more than one,
the sugar effects would be minimal. On the other hand, I also know you like to
exercise so if you do happen to
eat more than one, you have a good excuse to hit the pavement and work off your
spoils.
From what I was told,
these brownies were amazing and by far the most eaten out of the array I had
made for a baby shower earlier this week. I can’t tell you first hand what they
tasted like because I couldn’t eat a single one. Not even a taste to see if my
mint ratios were correct! Do you have any idea how difficult it is to bake/cook
when you take snitches of what you are preparing? It’s hard and I hope you only
ever have to take my word for it. Set aside the challenge of getting the recipe
just right, it’s torture for the food loving soul. (I wonder if I could start a book
series based on that title- you know to play on the other multimillion dollar
book franchise about a warm broth for the whatever loving soul…I think my book
would do better though because I think people like to torture themselves.) Anyway, I’ll address that particular problem (about not being able to eat the
food I prepare) later. For now, enjoy
your Birthday/St. Patrick’s Day Sweet.
Oh and now for a
little baking explanation. I found these little beauties off of the
website scrumptious photography
and yes, I am aware that her photography skills are far superior than
mine...I’m over it. After much deliberation, I decided to change a few things
with the recipe. To start, I didn't feel her pictures were
"minty" enough, so I one-and-a-halfed the mint layer portion of the
recipe. (recipe below
reflects the change). Since I didn’t
have any peppermint extract or crème de menthe on hand I used lorAnn’s Oils
Crème de Menthe Flavor. Which, I’m told is a stronger concentration than either
of the other flavoring methods mentioned and for best results should be done to
taste (hard to do when you can’t taste-so I used my brother and his wife to
help me out). I used close to ½ a dram for my recipe.
The other thing I
changed was the addition of a drippy ganache (which I can never spell correctly and neither can
spellchecker) and an Andes Mint as
garnish. I was going for "WOW" factor and/or pretty presentation. I’m
not sure I achieved either, but the brownies were gobbled up so that must say
something.
MINT
BROWNIE RECIPE
Brownie Layer:
½ cup
unsalted butter, but into pieces
4
ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used Scharffen Berger 99%)
1 ¼
cups granulated white sugar
1
teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2
large eggs
½ cup
all purpose flour
¼
teaspoon salt
Mint Layer:
2
tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup
confectioners (powdered) sugar
1
tablespoon heavy cream
¼ to
½ a dram (1-2 ml) lorAnn Oils Crème de Menthe flavor
2
drops liquid green food coloring
Chocolate Ganache:
2
ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
¼ cup
heavy whipping cream
2
tablespoons light corn syrup
1
teaspoon vanilla extract
Garnish
Andes
Mints, cut in half on the diagonal
Preparation:
Preheat
oven to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C) and place the rack in the center of the
oven. Have ready a 8 x 8 inch (23 x 23 cm) square baking pan (avoid glass) that
has been lined with parchment paper across the bottom and up two opposite sides
of the pan, like a sling. Set aside.
Brownies:
In a
stainless steel (heatproof) bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water,
melt the butter and chocolate. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar and
vanilla extract. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well (with a wooden
spoon) after each addition. Stir in the flour and salt and beat, with a wooden
spoon, until the batter is smooth and glossy and comes away from the sides of
the pan (about one minute). Pour the brownie batter evenly into the prepared
pan.
Bake
in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes or until the brownies start to pull
away from the sides of the pan and the edges of the brownies are just beginning
to brown. A toothpick inserted in the center of the brownies will come out
almost clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to completely cool.
Mint Layer:
In
the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat all the ingredients
until smooth. Add a few drops of green food coloring if you want the frosting
green. If the frosting is too thick, add a little extra cream. (The frosting
should be just thin enough to spread.) Spread the frosting evenly over the
cooled brownie layer. Place in the refrigerator for about 5-10 minutes or until
firm. Cut brownies into individual pieces and arrange ½ an inch apart on a
cookie tray covered with parchment paper. (this is so you can drip the ganache
off the sides)
Chocolate Ganache:
Place
the chocolate in a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over
medium heat until simmering. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and
let sit 1-2 minutes. Whisk until the mixture is smooth and homogenous.
Blend in the corn syrup and vanilla. Pour the glaze into a pitcher or
measuring cup and let cool for 3 minutes. (Do not let the glaze cool
longer or it may become difficult to drip over the brownies.) Dip a small
spoon into the ganache and with the backside of the spoon dab the ganache onto
each brownie square ensuring that the top is covered and the glaze drips over
the sides. Place Andes mint on top of ganache for garnish and refrigerate the
brownies until the glaze is set, at least 1 hour.
Bring
back to room temperature before serving.
Gwenevere
