Tag: dark chocolate brownies

Dark Chocolate Mint Brownies

Peppermint patties are one of my favorite things, though I hardly ever have them. I feel like I used to see the full-sized version in the candy displays at supermarket checkouts, but it’s been a long time since I’ve found one there.

This recipe, which is actually inspired by the Girl Scouts Thin Mint cookie, uses miniature ones – though you could chop up some full-sized ones if you can find them. Alternatively, you could use actual Thin Mints in these, but I feel like the peppermint patty is a better option, not just for how they look when they’re cut but also because you get a bit more peppermint this way.

Ingredients

  • 12 tablespoons butter
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup flour
  • 16 Miniature Peppermint Patties

Preparation

Preheat oven to 325. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 tin with baking spray.

In a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. Stir in sugar, allowing the mixture to become just hot, but not bubbly – this yields the shiny, crackly top. Remove from heat and stir in cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, and vanilla. Whisk in eggs, then stir in flour.

Pour about half the batter into the pan and top with peppermint patties, spacing evenly in rows. Pour the remaining batter over top and smooth with a spatula. Bake for 29-32 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely in the pan before cutting. Makes 24.

Mexican Chocolate Brownies

mexicanchocolatebrowniesWhat makes something a “Mexican chocolate” treat is subjective. Some recipes just use cinnamon, while others use cinnamon and cayenne pepper. Cayenne is one bridge too far for me baking-wise, so these Mexican chocolate brownies are just a combination of fudgy dark chocolate and cinnamon.

The brownie base is the King Arthur Baking fudgy brownie recipe, and I mixed in a bag of dark chocolate chips and a teaspoon of cinnamon into the batter. You can go easier on the cinnamon if you like, but I feel like the dark chocolate can take it. Also, these brownies had the most amazing shiny, crackly top I have ever seen; this is achieved by melting butter, then adding sugar and re-heating it to allow the sugar to dissolve. Brownie magic, for sure.

Ingredients

  • 12 tablespoons butter
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 12-ounce bag dark chocolate chips

Preparation

Preheat oven to 325. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 tin with baking spray.

In a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. Stir in sugar, allowing the mixture to become just hot, but not bubbly – this yields the shiny, crackly top. Remove from heat and stir in cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, and vanilla. Whisk in eggs, then stir in flour, cinnamon, and dark chocolate chips.

Pour batter into the baking tin and spread evenly. Bake for 29-32 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely in the pan before cutting. Makes 24.

Midnight Brownies

The brownie-baking extravaganza continued last week with these midnight brownies, which I’ve named as such because they are delightfully dark. These treats use Dutch process cocoa, which is made by washing cocoa beans in a potassium solution to neutralize its acidity before they’re processed into powder. 

The end result of this process (apparently pioneered by the Dutch) is a darker cocoa powder, which yields a different type of flavor in baked goods. Dutch process cocoa is also usually paired with baking powder, an acidic raising agent, rather than baking soda, which needs to react with an acid to create a rise in baking. Science was never my strong suit, but I think if I had learned it with baking-related examples, I would’ve understood it much better. 

Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsalted butter
  • 2 1/4 cups sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups Dutch process cocoa
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups flour

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 baking tin; sprinkle the bottom with sugar if desired for a crunchy bottom crust.

In a saucepan over low heat, melt butter, then stir in sugar and return to heat very briefly, until its hot – between 110 to 120 degrees – it will look shiny as you stir it (this helps the sugar dissolve better, which yields a crunchy top on the brownies). Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and stir in the cocoa, salt, baking powder, and vanilla. Stir in eggs, then flour, until batter is smooth. 

Pour into prepared baking tin and bake for 28 to 30 minutes, until brownies are set and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely before cutting into squares. Store in an airtight container at room temperature. Makes 24.