Mint Brownies with Fudge Frosting

As I've mentioned before in a previous post, I've always been a bit indifferent to the idea of making brownies from scratch.  It just seems like there are so many steps when a boxed mix is quite frankly (in my opinion) just fine.  And by just fine I mean that I would have no problem finishing off the whole pan by myself :)  I always end up loving any brownies I make from scratch, but my preconceived notions still somehow manage to persist.

But during a Pinterest search for some St. Patrick's Day recipes I kept coming across mint brownies.  And the more pins I saw the more I was craving some for myself.  Typical, I know.  I swear I believe Pinterest is responsible for 99.9% of my food cravings!

There are tons of great mint brownie recipes out there, but I decided to try my hand at coming up with something new that would have all of the aspects that I was craving.  i.e. a soft brownie base, a thicker layer of mint and then a fudge frosting on top.  These brownies are extra minty in flavor because I used mint chocolate chips for the fudge frosting instead of semi sweet chocolate chips.  If you're not looking for as much of a punch you can stick with semi sweet.

I don't really have a lot of green in my closet, so hopefully I can placate anyone who might pinch me for not proudly bearing the color with one of these babies....at least that's my plan :)

Happy {early} St. Patrick's Day!!



Mint Brownies with Fudge Frosting CCK Original 
For the Brownies:
1 C butter, melted
1/2 C cocoa powder
1 Tbsp honey
4 eggs
2 C sugar
1 3/4 C flour
1/2 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

For the Mint Layer:
1/2 C butter, softened
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 Tbsp light corn syrup
3 1/2 C powdered sugar
1 tsp mint extract
5-6 drops green food coloring
1/3 C milk

For the Frosting:
1 1/2 C sugar
6 Tbsp milk
6 Tbsp butter, softened
1 C mint chocolate chips
dash vanilla extract

For the brownies:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease 9x13 pan and set aside.

In large bowl combine melted butter and cocoa powder.  Allow to cool.

Add all remaining brownie ingredients and mix well.  Pour into prepared pan and spread into even layer.  Bake approximately 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.  *There's nothing worse than a dry brownie!  I sometimes tend to take mine out sooner rather than later for this reason.

Allow brownies to cool completely before adding the mint layer.

For the mint layer:

In medium bowl combine butter, salt, corn syrup and powdered sugar.  Use electric beaters to mix well.  The mixture won't be moist yet but that's okay.  Just make sure everything's mixed as well as you can get it.

Add green food coloring and mint extract.  Add 1/4 C milk and increase to 1/3 C only if needed.  Beat well.  Add just enough milk to get frosting to a soft enough consistency to easily spread over the baked brownie bottom layer.  If you get the frosting too runny it won't set.

Spread mint frosting over bottom layer of brownies.  Place in freezer for 15 minutes before starting the fudge frosting to allow mint layer to set.

For the fudge frosting:

Add sugar, milk and butter to medium saucepan over medium high heat.  Stir occasionally.  Bring mixture to rolling boil and allow to boil for 30 seconds, removing from heat immediately thereafter.

Stir in mint chocolate chips and vanilla.

Allow to cool for 4 minutes, stirring every 60 seconds.

Removing brownies from freezer and pour fudge frosting over top, using spatula to spread frosting into an even layer.

Allow frosting to set before cutting and serving.