Chocolate and mint are a favorite combination in our home. Grant absolutely loves these brownies. He regularly shared at school and several schoolmates are as enthusiastic as he is now. One young man especially loves these, so Grant asked me to make him a full batch. Thankfully, I sent them just before spring break. I am so glad I did, not only for the joy it brought, but because school closed for the rest of the year due to COVID19.
The recipe used to be on King Arthur Baking’s website but when I went to make them this past winter the recipe was gone! I contacted them and it turns out someone decided to clean out their recipes and took several off the website. They were able to find it in their archives and email it to me. I cannot believe they would remove the best brownie recipe ever!
I like to increase the mint flavor with peppermint extract and a little peppermint schnapps. The recipe calls for mint chocolate chunks, but I use green mint chips from Guittard and some bittersweet chocolate chips. These brownies can be made gluten free by substituting King Arthur Gluten-Free Measure for Measure Flour or another gluten-free flour blend meant to be an equal substitute for wheat flour.
MINT BROWNIES
- 1 cup (16 tablespoons)(227 grams ) unsalted butter
- 2 1/4 cups (447 grams) sugar
- 1 1/4 cups (106 grams) Dutch-process cocoa
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder, optional
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon mint extract
- 1 tablespoon peppermint liqueur
- 4 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups (180 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 3/4 cups (300 grams) green mint chips or mint chocolate chips
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9″ x 13″ pan, line it with parchment, and grease the parchment. You can skip the parchment if you like, but it does ensure the sticky brownies will release from the pan in one piece.
- In a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl, or in a saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter, then add the sugar and stir to combine. Return the mixture to the heat (or microwave) briefly, just until it’s hot (about 110°F to 120°F), but not bubbling; it’ll become shiny looking as you stir it. Heating this mixture a second time will dissolve more of the sugar, which will yield a shiny top crust on your brownies.
- Stir in the cocoa, salt, baking powder, espresso powder, and extracts.
- Whisk in the eggs, stirring until smooth; then add the flour, again stirring until smooth.
- Fold in the mint chips, then spoon the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake the brownies for 28 to 32 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, or with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it. The brownies should feel set on the edges and just barely set in the center. Remove the brownies from the oven and allow them to cool completely.
- Yield: 2 dozen 2″ brownies.
AT A GLANCE
PREP
15 mins. to 20 mins.
BAKE
28 mins. to 32 mins.
TOTAL
43 mins. to 52 mins.
YIELD
2 dozen 2″ brownies