Mint Chocolate Brownies

This week I received an earnest email from a coworker, pleading for our Girl Scout cookie purchases to support his daughter's first year as a Girl Scout. He spoke of how she's so close to reaching her goal, and that my purchase will help boost her self-confidence and then, only then, can she succeed in life. Maybe I made that last part up, but if he brought her in to the office, I'll bet she would have made a killing. Who can resist buying cookies from a little girl asking so sweetly? I certainly can't, so I opted for a couple boxes of thin mints. I love that mint chocolate flavor, and when they're frozen - yum.

The thin mints will arrive sometime next week, so in the mean time I made these mint chocolate brownies to have a little taste of what's to come. I used a previous brownie recipe and added a teaspoon of peppermint extract. A little bit of that stuff certainly goes a long way. I think I would like a little more texture in these brownies, but since I usually shy away from adding nuts (per some preferences), next time I'll add in some chocolate chunks to the mix.

Mint Chocolate Brownies
adapted from a previous recipe

Ingredients:
7 ounces dark chocolate (this time I used Ghirardelli's 72% cocoa)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into quarters
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 cup flour

Directions:
1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350F degrees.
2. Spray mini muffin pan with nonstick vegetable cooking spray.
3. In microwave, melt chocolate and butter, stirring occasionally until mixture is smooth. Whisk in cocoa until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.
4. Whisk together eggs, sugar, vanilla, peppermint, and salt in medium bowl until combined, about 15 seconds.
5. Whisk warm chocolate mixture into egg mixture; then stir in flour until just combined.
6. Spoon batter into muffin pan. Bake until slightly puffed and toothpick inserted in center comes out with a small amount of sticky crumbs clinging to it, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on wire rack to room temperature.

Matcha Brownie Bites

I had the pleasure of attending not just one, but two wedding celebrations for our friends Natasha and Ka-Loon the past two weekends. The official ceremony and reception was held last weekend in Bluemont, Virginia, and last night they had their Chinese (Fukienese) reception in NY. This brownie was inspired by their DC wedding since their wedding colors were green and brown, and the was complete with both matcha cupcakes and chocolate cupcakes made by Judy J. I was happy to hear from Nat's dad that he's read my blog (now I know who my Aussie readers are), so I wanted to make something for the family since I knew I'd see them again at the reception in Chinatown. I used the previous brownie bites recipe and added matcha for flavoring. The matcha taste is subtle, but I think it adds a little edge to the otherwise plain chocolate brownie.

Quick note and apology to the Holts: the batch I made were a tad undercooked, and I hadn't realized it until later! Please if you haven't eaten them, microwave them for 15-20 seconds before eating. I've updated the recipe to correct the mistake (decreased amount of eggs and increased bake time).

Matcha Brownie Bites
based on a previous recipe

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
7 ounces dark chocolate (70% cacao)
1 cups sugar
3 eggs (4 for a cakier brownie)
a rounded Tb of flour
1 Tablespoon matcha
pinch of salt
2 teaspoons matcha, for dusting

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease and flour a mini muffin pan.
2. Melt together the butter with the chocolate. (If melting in the microwave, be sure to do it slowly, blending with a spoon between each pass.) Transfer into a medium mixing-bowl.
3. Add in the sugar, stir, and let cool a little.
4. Add in the eggs one by one, mixing well after each addition.
5. Sift together the flour, matcha, and salt. Add in the mixture, mix well.
6. Pour batter into muffin pan and bake for 13-15 minutes.
7. Cool completely and dust tops with matcha.
8. Store in a plastic container, refrigerate, and take it out about an hour before serving.

Marshmallow Brownies

It was almost a year ago when I made marshmallow blondies. They were a hit at a friend's birthday bbq, and I often think about making them again, but I never have butterscotch when I want to make them. This time when the blondies came to mind, instead of giving up due to no butterscotch, I decided to make a brownie version since I already had chocolate and marshmallows.

Think of it as an American Rocky Road brownie minus the nuts, which is my usual ice cream order at places like Marble Slab (which, by the way, came before Cold Stone and is from Texas). Also according to its history, both Marble Slab and I share the same birthplace and birth month, so it's no wonder I feel such a strong connection to the creamery. It's a shame there are none around me in New York. What's also a shame is that I can't get Blue Bell ice cream around here either. Don't get me wrong, I love New York, but as great as the food is here, there are some Texas treats I'm going to miss it from time to time. This is why I relate so well to the Homesick Texan. And ain't it a gorgeous blog!

Marshmallow Brownies
adapted from Cook's Illustrated

Ingredients:
7 ounces dark chocolate (at least 60% cocoa), chopped
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into quarters
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 cup flour
1 cup mini marshmallows

Directions:
1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350F degrees.
2. Spray mini muffin pan with nonstick vegetable cooking spray.
3. In microwave, melt chocolate and butter, stirring occasionally until mixture is smooth. Whisk in cocoa until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.
4. Whisk together eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt in medium bowl until combined, about 15 seconds.
5. Whisk warm chocolate mixture into egg mixture; then stir in flour and mini marshmallows until just combined.
6. Spoon batter into muffin pan. Bake until slightly puffed and toothpick inserted in center comes out with a small amount of sticky crumbs clinging to it, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on wire rack to room temperature.

Mexican Chocolate Brownie Bites

Mexican hot chocolate is typically hot chocolate flavored with cinnamon. Sounds delicious, but why's it coined Mexican? This is because the origins of chocolate is rooted in the Mayan and Aztec cultures. The Aztecs created xocoatl which was a bitter chocolate drink, flavored with vanilla and spices. Now this could turn into a history lesson, but since I was never a good history student, I will instead point you to Wikipedia for the quick read. But for those of you truly fascinated with chocolate and needing to learn its entire history, I'll point you to The True History of Chocolate for a slightly longer read. So about the brownies. I went to a housewarming last weekend and when I was told there would be Cuban food, I ran through a list of ideas for a complimentary dessert and finally decided on these. I felt the cayenne/cinnamon flavor was just the right strength - enough to taste a different flavor, but not so much that it left a spicy taste in your mouth. Now, it's based on my go-to dark chocolate cake recipe, but they looked like the Hostess Brownie Bites, and I had to call them just that.

Mexican Chocolate Brownie Bites
based on a previous recipe

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
7oz dark chocolate (70% cocoa)
1 cups sugar
4 eggs
a rounded Tb of flour
3/4 tsp cayenne pepper
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400F. Grease and flour a mini muffin pan.
2. Melt together the butter with the chocolate. (If melting in the microwave, be sure to do it slowly, blending with a spoon between each pass.) Transfer into a medium mixing-bowl.
3. Add in the sugar, stir, and let cool a little.
4. Add in the eggs one by one, mixing well after each addition.
5. Add in the flour, pepper, and cinnamon. Mix well.
6. Pour batter into muffin pan and bake for 10-12 minutes.
7. Cool completely, store in a plastic container, refrigerate, and take it out about an hour before serving.

Peppermint Brownies

My holiday baking has officially begun. Last year, everyone's favorite were the chocolate peppermint cookies, and as much as I would love to make them again, I had to try something new: a peppermint brownie. I found out most my friends prefer brownies over cookies, so... I adapted. Also, I participated in Brooklyn Bride's holiday card swap, and since this is a baking blog, I wanted to send out some of the goods with my cards. I really hope they're not destroyed in the mail - sorry ladies if they are! I'm blaming it on the mailman.

And I've got at least 3-4 more holiday recipes coming up, so check back for more suga.

Peppermint Brownies

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 3/4 cup sugar
4 eggs
2 Tablespoon Andes chocolates (about 8 pieces - add this if you like a more fudgy brownie)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 candy canes, crushed

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9x13 pan.
2. In a large saucepan, melt butter and Andes chocolates.
3. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
4. Beat in cocoa, flour, salt, and baking powder. Spread batter into prepared pan.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.
6. Gently press crushed candy canes into top of brownie before it completely cools.