I have mixed feelings about St. Patrick's Day which I won't go into, but one thing I'm happy to share is this brownie recipe that's perfect for the holiday. These are Chocolate Mint Buttercream Brownies. They have a base of light fudgy brownie, a layer of mint flavored buttercream and a topping of dark chocolate. Do I even need to say that they are easy? They are!
I've had this recipe for about 30 years. It is originally from a friend who got it from a magazine and brought it to the office where of course they were well-received. I think I had the recipe on Cookie Madness at one point but the pictures needed an update and I didn't get around to it until now.
8-Inch Pan Recipe
The recipe fits an 8-inch square pan but my friend doubled it and used a 9x13 inch pan. Whatever size you choose, the ratios for the topping, in my opinion, are just right. There's a pretty thin layer of mint topped with a thicker layer of dark chocolate.
Shiny Chocolate Topping
I was so happy with how the shiny chocolate topping turned out for this batch. To get the smooth and shiny top, I melted the butter first, added the chopped chocolate to the hot butter and just let it sit. When the chocolate would no longer melt, I put it over low heat very briefly. This can be done in a saucepan or using low power settings of the microwave. I'm only mentioning this because as much as I love to bake, I have a bad habit of mixing chocolate and butter together over too high and heat and having a bad outcome!
So here's the recipe, just in time for your big St. Patrick's Day celebration! Or maybe just dessert.
Recipe
Mint Cream Brownies
Ingredients
Brownies
- 1 stick unsalted butter (114 grams)
- 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped (56 grams)
- 2 large eggs (100 grams)
- 1 cup sugar (200 grams)
- ½ cup all purpose flour (65 grams)
- ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup miniature chocolate chips, optional
Mint Buttercream
- 1 cup sifted powdered sugar (110 grams)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (28 grams)
- 1 tablespoon whole milk (14 grams)
- ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract
Chocolate Topping
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 ounces dark chocolate, chopped (I used Hershey's Dark) chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Line inside of an 8-inch square metal pan with foil and grease the bottom only.
- Melt butter and unsweetened chocolate together in microwave or over the stove. Set aside to cool slightly.
- Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sugar in a mixing bowl until very light and fluffy. I use the whisk attachment on my stand mixer and just let it go for about 3 minutes.
- Fold the melted chocolate mixture into the egg mixture, then stir in the flour, extracts and salt. Let the mixture cool down if it is still at all warm, then stir in the mini chocolate chips.
- Spread batter in the pan and bake for about 25 minutes. Let cool slightly while you make the mint buttercream topping
Mint Buttercream
- Beat powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of milk until it sticks together, then add the milk and beat until light and creamy. Beat in the flavorings and add food coloring if desired. Spread over the brownies while they are still slightly warm, then chill until firm before adding the chocolate toppings.
Chocolate Topping
- Melt the 2 tablespoon of butter in a small saucepan or the top of a double boiler. Remove from heat and add chopped dark chocolate. Stir until chocolate is as melted as possible, then return to the lowest heat possible to finish melting as needed. Pour over cold mint buttercream. Let set at room temperature.
- Lift from pan. Peel away foil and cut into small squares.
Anna says
Mary, I'm going to look for that recipe. Thanks for mentioning it! I bought a carton of the new Simply 5 Hershey's syrup and need to use it. I wonder if the recipe will work the same with the new syrup since it doesn't have high fructose corn syrup.
Mary Murphy says
I make a version of these I've called "Green Brownies". It's the one from an insert from a 30-year-old-plus magazine (Womens Day?)I think the insert was an ad for Borden products. The base is a can of Hersheys syrup, sugar, flour, an egg or 2, maaaaybe a half stick of butter? My daughter took over making them so I can't remember exactly- but VERY simple list of like 5 ingredients. Basic buttercream frosting flavored with mint, and then chocolate chips melted in a bit of butter for the topping. I always halved the topping amount. Easy peasy and a family favorite for close to 40 years!
Sue K says
I had to dig deep to find that recipe. It has been a very long time since I made them. No that old recipe does not have you beat the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. When I found the recipe I compared it to this and it’s completely different.
Anna says
Does your recipe call for beating the eggs and sugar until very light and fluffy?
Sue K says
This recipe looks very much like a recipe I’ve had for a very long time. They got renamed Mo’ Brownies by my nephew because he always wanted Mo’ of them.
The mint filling in my recipe calls for Crème de Menthe.
They are very good.