Mint Brownies

I make these every year for my St. Paddy's party. There is nothing Irish about it but I LOVE them. And it's been a hit for years so it's a tradition now.

There is a recipe to make brownies yourself, but I'm all about making it easy. So I just buy two boxes of brownies. Anything with chocolate chunks in them. But if you are insane and would like to go the long way.....comment if you want the recipe for the brownies. Ok, here we go:

2 boxes of brownies
2 2/3 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of water
1 teaspoon mint extract
4 drops of green food coloring
1 cup Hershey's semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 (1 stick) butter plus 6 tablespoons (I'm a firm believer in the real butter when baking)

Follow directions on the box of brownies....bake in a greased 9X13 pan. Please don't over bake...you want them nice and moist. While they are baking...prepare mint cream center.
Combine powdered sugar, butter, water, mint extract and food coloring. Now here is some great advice. The recipe said nothing about melting the butter, so the stinkin' powdered sugar went all over the place. So from experience ladies......melt the butter for about 20 secs in the microwave. Unless you want to make some kind of fashion statement or have new decor in your kitchen. Beat until smooth. Once the brownies are baked and have cooled down (about an hour)...spread the mint mixture evenly on brownies.
Prepare chocolate glaze by placing 6 tablespoons of butter and chocolate chips in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 1 min. Stir with a spoon until smooth. Pour and spread over mint center. Cover (This is important) and refrigerate for 1 hour. Don't have it in there longer than that. Let sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving. Of course during that hour you could be licking the mint bowl and the chocolate bowl.



By Moira