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!!

Caramel Pecan Brownies

Not gonna lie.  I like boxed brownies better.  Most of the time, that is.  I think it's just that I don't see why you should add all the fuss that comes with making brownies from scratch when the "just add eggs, oil and water" version does the trick just fine.

But after seeing these caramel pecan brownies on Pinterest one day my curiosity got the best of me.  And I must say I was pleasantly surprised.  Little things like toasting the pecans and making your caramel sauce with real cream do indeed make a noticeable difference.  While you'll dirty up a few more bowls than you normally would, it will definitely be worth it.  Plus, that gives you more batter to sample :)

Feel free to leave out the pecans if they're not your thing.  You could also substitute with walnuts or add butterscotch chips.  Or white chocolate chips.  Or mint.  Your choice!

Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies

Two of my favorite things are red velvet cake and brownies.  I've heard of several versions of brownies over the years....blondies, Reese's cup brownies, chocolate chunk brownies, m&m brownies, ones with caramel.....you name it, it's probably been done.  But it was on Pinterest where I came across a red velvet version of these delicious chocolate bars.

I don't know what it is about the red color, but it just makes everything taste better.  After all, a red velvet cake is nothing but a chocolate buttermilk cake that's blushing a deep red scarlet color.  But I swear the color makes it taste different somehow.

These brownies were incredibly easy to put together and I loved that they were topped with a lovely layer of cream cheese.  Cream cheese just adds another layer of richness.  This addition isn't necessary in my opinion because the brownies themselves are so yummy, but I think it lends another flavor that complements the chocolate perfectly.

Look how moist those babies are...

Just a word of warning....you may need to wear your stretchy pants the day after you make these because I can promise you you're going to both lick the bowl clean and then turn around and eat three (or five) of these delicious bars :)

Those brownies may or may not be missing

because I ate them...only for photographic

purposes though :)

Raspberry Cream Cheese Brownies

Did the title reel you in?  How heavenly do these sound?  Brownies are always fabulous,  raspberries might be my favorite fruit and cream cheese of course is a gift from God Himself.  So the thought of combining all of these things into one dish just blew my mind.

I'm a very big fan of boxed brownies, so the decision to make some from scratch was not a light one.  If the boxed variety works so well, why bother going through all the motions just to come out with the same thing?  Well, that's where these brownies differ.

I don't know how to explain it, but they have a completely different texture than boxed brownies do.  The raspberries perfectly complement the dark chocolate, while the cream cheese add the perfect amount of softness to the brownies.

My other favorite thing about these brownies is that they could be easily adapted to suit your taste.  Don't like raspberries?  Use strawberry jam.  Try out orange.  Get creative and find the combo you love!

Raspberry Cream Cheese Brownies courtesy of Brown Eyed Baker
8 oz cream cheese at room temp
1 1/2 C granulated sugar, divided
1 egg yolk
2 1/4 tsp vanilla extract, divided
2/3 C all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
8 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces
4 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/2 C raspberry jam, divided
3 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 and line 8 inch square baking pan with parchment paper along the bottom of the dish.  Lightly grease the dish.

Chopping the dark chocolate...I might have

snuck a bite ;)

Process cream cheese, 1/4 C granulated sugar, egg yolk and 1/4 tsp vanilla in food processor until smooth (I used a hand held mixer in a separate bowl).  Set aside.

Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in small bowl.  Set aside.  Microwave butter and chocolate in separate bowl until melted and smooth, opening microwave periodically to stir.    Whisk 1/4 C raspberry jam into chocolate mixture and whisk until smooth.  Allow to cool slightly.

Add remaining 1 1/4 C sugar, the 3 eggs, and remaining 1 1/4 tsp vanilla to chocolate mixture, stirring until combined.  Add flour mixture and stir until incorporated.

Microwave remaining raspberry jam until smooth and slightly melted (about 30 sec).  Stir to smooth and cool.  Scrape half of brownie mixture into pan, top with cream cheese mixture.  Smooth out to get even.  Then top with raspberry jam.  *This is where I added my layer of fresh raspberries.  Spread remaining brownie batter over top.

Fresh raspberries over top the cream cheese

And the final layer of chocolate batter...

Bake 50-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Cool completely (approximately 2 hours) before removing from pan.

Layers of chewy, moist goodness