When I had a job, I worked in an office that was a big fan of potlucks. One of my coworkers [almost] always brought in Mint Brownies to share. They were generally devoured by the end of the work day because they were so freaking good.
When I was copying recipes from my mom, I found she had the recipe for Lilly’s famous mint brownies. So I added that to my list.
I’ve been wanting to make these ever since I copied that recipe, but I’ve been putting it off, simply because I didn’t want to have a whole pan of them in my house with just Bob and me to eat them. They’re good but they are not good for you.
When we got word of a family picnic for Labor Day (and Bob volunteered me to make a dessert) I knew this was a good opportunity to finally break out the Mint Brownie recipe.
And they were a hit.
Mint Brownies
For the brownies:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter (softened)
4 eggs (beaten)
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup
1 tsp Vanilla ExtractPreheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix in salt and flour until well incorporated. Add chocolate syrup.
Pour into 9×13″ cake pan. Bake approximately 35 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.
For the mint frosting:
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter (softened)
2 Tbsp milk (or water)
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
green food coloringCream together butter and powdered sugar. Add milk (or water), peppermint extract, and green food coloring (a few drops for desired green-ness).
Spread over cooled brownies.
For the chocolate glaze:
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
6 Tbsp butterMelt butter and chocolate together, using desired method. (Microwave, double boiler, sauce pan, etc.)
Spread over mint frosting and brownies.
Refrigerate until chocolate is set. Chocolate will form a crisp shell on top of brownies.
Once cool and set, cut brownies into small squares.
After the brownies were cooled, they kind of deflated and shrunk away from the edge of the pan. I’ve never seen this happen before, so I don’t know if this is normal or not. But they tasted right, and had the proper consistency, so I’m not sure what the deal was with that.
The frosting calls for milk, but I substituted water with no ill effects. There are some milk allergies in the group, so I made the change specifically for that reason. It’s only 2 tablespoons of liquid, so it really was not noticeable. I also added an extra 1/2 teaspoon of peppermint extract because the mint flavor seemed a little too weak when I sampled it.
To melt the chocolate, I used a small saucepan, melting the butter and chocolate chips over low heat, stirring until it was smooth.
You’ll want to keep them in the refrigerator even after they’re set because the top chocolate layer starts to get melty and gooey if it gets too warm. Not necessarily a bad thing, but they’re better with the chocolate shell.
These are incredibly rich brownies between the frosting and all the chocolate. You may want to eat the whole pan in one sitting (I know I do) but they are best in small doses. Probably followed up by a 20-mile run to burn them off.
With eight people, we made a significant dent in the pan and I sent a plate of them home with the in-laws. So there aren’t too many sitting in my fridge taunting me right now.
But they are dangerous to have around.
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