Not Your Average Brownie

Ever get bored with basic brownies? They may be delicious, but here’s a clever twist to make them even better. Don’t be scared of making brownies from scratch. Trust me when I say it’s worth the couple of extra minutes it takes to make it without the box. Plus tt’s an easy recipe to make with the kids, as noted below by my resident egg breaker.

Mint Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
8 ounces semisweet chocolate (I used semi sweet mini’s, regular morsels are fine too.)
1 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
16 small peppermint patties

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8×8 square baking pan with a little cooking spray or rub with coconut oil and then line with parchment paper.

2. Combine chocolate and butter in a medium saucepan set over a second saucepan filled with about 2” of water. (double boiler). Stir until melted.

3. Remove chocolate mixture from heat. Whisk in sugar and salt until smooth. Whisk in eggs. Gently whisk in flour and cocoa powder until smooth.

4. Spread about 1/3 of batter into the prepared plan. Arrange peppermint patties, (I know this isn’t the healthiest of options, maybe I’ll look for a high fructose corn syrup free mint pattie!) in a square on top of the batter. Top with remaining batter and spread out to create a smooth surface.

5. Bake for about 45 minutes. Cool completely in pan…this takes at least a couple of hours so plan ahead. Otherwise they are too crumbly. You can place them in the fridge to cool them off a little faster.