Chocolate Mint Brownies

Because you can see a picture of my brownies right off the bat, I feel that I should explain something before giving you the recipe. These brownies are definitely tasty, and fantastically rich. The bottom layer is a nice rich homemade brownie. The smell as they come out of the oven just makes your mouth water. The middle layer is a mint frosting (easy enough right?). The top layer is SUPPOSED to be a thick ganache. However, my ganache did not turn out. I debated omitting the ganache altogether, when it appeared to be too runny, but it tasted so good that I thought I’d drizzle it over the brownies anyway. Still tasty, but rather messy and not so photo worthy.

I am quite disappointed that my ganache didn’t turn out, because the original recipe’s picture makes it look so incredible yummy. I’m not sure what I did wrong, so maybe you can help me out. I guess I hadn’t made a ganache before. All the recipe said to do was to heat 1 cup of whipping cream. Then pour the hot cream over 1 cup chopped bittersweet chocolate, and whisk until smooth. I did this exactly. One thing that I’m wondering is if the chocolate needs to be a specific kind of chocolate. I used semisweet chocolate chips, thinking they would work, but apparently not. Thoughts?

I looked up other ganache recipes and reviews and it looks like I may be the only one who has had this problem. Perhaps it was to do with the mixing? Anyway, I will give you the original recipe (from Mom On TimeOut) because I’m confident you will be able to figure it out and have some beautifully tasty brownies in the end.

Recipe type: Dessert

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 25 mins

Total time: 40 mins

Serves: 12

Ingredients

Brownie:

½ cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
4 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
¼ c Andes creme de menth baking chips
1¼ cups granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ tsp mint extract
2 large eggs, room temperature
½ cup all-purpose flour
¼ tsp salt

Mint Filling:

½ cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 Tbs water
½ tsp mint extract
4 drops green food coloring

Chocolate Ganache:

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup (8 ounces) bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325° and line an 8x8" baking dish with foil; set aside.
Using a double boiler, melt the butter, chocolate, and baking chips together. Remove from heat.
Stir in the extracts and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, making sure they are well incorporated.
Mix in flour and salt. Beat with a wooden spoon until nice and smooth (about 50-60 strokes).
Pour brownie batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 25 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool completely.

For the filling:

Whip the butter until nice and fluffy. Add the remaining ingredients into the mixing bowl and mix until smooth.
Spread over the cooled brownies. Place in the refrigerator while preparing the ganache.

For the chocolate ganache:

Place the chips in a medium bowl.
In a small saucepan (or microwave), bring the whipping cream just to a simmer. Do not let it boil over!
Pour the whipping cream over the chocolate and whisk until nice and smooth.
Let the ganache cool in the bowl for 10-20 minutes before pouring over the mint layer.
Wait 10 minutes for the ganache to set up a bit and then sprinkle on chopped Andes Mints (I used chocolate and mint chips).
Place the finished brownies in the refrigerator for at least another 30 minutes before slicing and serving.