Peppermint Fudge Brownies
Does anyone else remember those York Peppermint Patty commercials from when we were younger? Where people would “feel the sensation” during random activities?
I’ve been feeling the sensation for the past couple of weeks thanks to some mini York Peppermint Patties that I’ve been storing in the fridge. They have been really hitting the spot as the temperature increases in Boston.
When I was brainstorming ideas of what to bring to our friends for a cookout last week, I reached into the fridge to grab one of these cool minty treats and it hit me. Brownies with York Peppermint Patties had to be an amazing treat.
So I whipped up a batch of my favorite brownies, and added a layer of York Peppermint Patties in the middle. I packed as many of those little York Peppermint Patties into the pan as I could. The resulting brownie was minty, fudgey, and indulgent. They were a big hit at the cookout and taste even better slightly chilled.
Peppermint Fudge Brownies
Mint and chocolate make such a great pair, it's no wonder these brownies were such a big hit!
Yield: 24 brownies
Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups cocoa
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp espresso powder, optional
1 Tbsp vanilla
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
2 cups chocolate chips
~1.5 lbs Mini York Peppermint Patties (~45 patties)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan
In a saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter, then add the sugar and stir to combine. Return the mixture to the heat briefly, just until it's hot, 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.
Transfer the sugar mixture to a medium-sized mixing bowl, if you've heated it in a saucepan. Stir in the cocoa, salt, baking powder, espresso powder, and vanilla.
Whisk in the eggs, stirring until smooth.
Add the flour and chips, again stirring until smooth.
Spoon 1/2 of the batter into a lightly greased 9" x 13" pan. Top with peppermint patties - be sure to place the candies as close together as possible to ensure each bite has a bit of candy in it. Spoon remaining batter on top of candy.
Bake the brownies for about 30 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 the center should look very moist, but not uncooked. Remove them from the oven and cool completely prior to cutting.
Recipe adapted from My Go-To Brownie Recipe
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
Mmmmm I love one dish cupcakes!
http://www.brisbanebaker.blogspot.com
Those cupcakes look delish! Can you tell me more about the “dipping in ganache” technique? Does the ganache need to be a certain consistency first?
I have seen some maple cheesecake around the blogs, maybe that would be awesome use for the sugar? Or to top maple sugar cookies 🙂
I made a seriously awesome maple mousse cake to go with Christmas dinner this year and it used maple sugar. It was one of the best desserts I’ve ever eaten. The link to the post is: http://joanne-eatswellwithothers.blogspot.com/2010/01/frozen-maple-mousse-pie-with-chocolate.html.
Go Butler!! I think I’m going to use your “go to” cupcake recipe to make some Final Four treats for the office Friday
Wow that maple syrup event looks really cool, I wish I had known about it- it looks like they only do it once a year!
Carly – I dipped the cupcakes in the ganache while it was still very liquidy. I did it a few minutes after making the ganache and then let it set up on the cupcakes. Hope that helps.
Jen, the maple syrup experience sounds like so much fun and I’ve always wanted to do it! I wonder if it’s too late this year.
Those cupcakes look so pretty. Can you tell me what kind of liners you’re using? They stay so nice and bright.
ooo I love sugar houses!!! The tastings are always the best 🙂
Lila, I get the liners online. Here is the link for the colored ones, and I also get brown liners as well.
The cupcakes look beautiful and festive!! I love real maple syrup!
I should have a birthday more often. So good…