Crushed candy canes add a merry touch to these classic chocolate mint brownies of chocolate cake, peppermint cream, and chocolate fudge. So easy & festive!
Archive dive
I have been collecting recipes for almost 40 years, much the same way I collect them on Pinterest…I see something that looks fun or interesting and say to myself, “I’d like to make this sometime.” I then promptly forget about it as I move on to the next interesting find (that’s probably why I have so many duplicates in my files and on my boards). Because everything is online now I rarely go back to my paper recipes, so when I do look for an old recipe it’s fun to see what I find. Case in point, I recently ran across this old beauty for Hershey’s Double Chocolate Mint Dessert.
We all know that chocolate and mint are great together…witness Mint Chocolate Chunk cookies. And, if you sign up for my weekly notification (in the sidebar of this page), I’ll send you a link for Mint Chocolate Chunk Cream Scones! Such minty goodness…I can’t even.
Archive dive, dressed for the holidays
I’ve made this chocolate mint dessert many times over the years, so this time we decided to dress it up for the holidays by adding a little crushed candy canes to the dish. Another change we made was to ditch the canned chocolate sauce in favor of homemade chocolate syrup (Sorry, Hershey’s!). The homemade sauce has only five ingredients, is preservative-free with no tinny taste, and comes together in a snap. Win!
[Side note: I say “we” because my younger daughter is home for a few weeks and we love baking together (she’s the one who designed her sister’s wedding cake and her brother-in-law’s groom’s TARDIS cake). She actually took over my Instagram story for the day as we were making the brownies and created a really cute collage. It’s so fun to have her around!]
How to make Chocolate Mint Brownies, in pictures
Step 1: Take out your aggressions on some poor, unsuspecting candy canes. You want some pieces and some dust (the amount will depend on your mental state, of course!).
Step 2: Create the cake layer
Step 3: Now comes the Peppermint Cream
Step 4: The decadent chocolate & candy cane blanket makes this dessert go from good to yummm…
The hardest part about making Double Chocolate Peppermint Brownies is waiting for the layers to chill down enough to move to the next step. Patience is a virtue, or so I tell myself…wait…wait…their final destination…in ma’ belly! Just kidding (sort of)…if you need to pace yourself need to share the brownies, the recipe doubles easily. I’m glad I still have all my old recipe files…who knows what I’ll come across next?
Happy Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Solstice, and Happy whatever-you-celebrate! I hope a Double Chocolate Peppermint Brownie will make an appearance at your holiday celebrations. So easy to make, fun, and festive, they’ll stand out on your dessert table. Make some today!
Slainté! L’chaim! Cheers!
Tammy
Double Chocolate Peppermint Brownies
Special Equipment
- parchment paper
- serrated knife
- hand mixer
Ingredients
For the cake
- 1/2 cup sugar (3-1/2 oz, 100g)
- 1/4 cup butter (2 oz, 56g), softened
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (2 oz, 60g)
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 3/4 cup chocolate syrup (8 oz, 227g), homemade or store-bought
For the peppermint cream
- 1 cup powdered sugar (4 oz, 113g), plus more as needed, sifted
- 1/4 cup butter (2 oz, 56g), softened
- 1-1/2 tsp water
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp mint extract
- 1 tsp candy canes, crushed
- 3 drops red food coloring, optional
For the chocolate peppermint topping
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate (3 oz, 85g), chopped, or chocolate chips
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter (1-1/2 oz, 45g)
- 8 small candy canes, crushed
Procedure
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray an 8- x 8-inch baking pan with baking spray, line with parchment paper, then spray the paper. Place unwrapped candy canes into a ziplock bag and pound with a meat mallet until crushed. Chop the chocolate using a serrated knife (it works better on chocolate than a chef’s knife).
- In a medium bowl, cream the butter and sugar until smooth. Add flour, eggs, and chocolate syrup; mix until smooth. The batter will appear liquid.
- Pour into prepared pan and bake 25-30 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched (top may still appear wet).
- Cool completely in pan. Can be brought to room temperature for 30 minutes, then chilled in refrigerator for another 15 minutes.
- While the cake is chilling, prepare the mint layer: in a small bowl, sift the powdered sugar and add the butter, water, and mint extract; beat until smooth. Add 1 tsp of crushed candy canes and mix until well combined.
- When the cake is thoroughly chilled, spread the mint layer evenly with a small offset spatula. Add a few drops of red food coloring and swirl into filling. Chill until peppermint cream is firm, about 30 minutes.
- In a small microwave-proof bowl melt the chopped chocolate with 3 Tbsp of butter on HIGH for about 60 to 90 seconds or until chelate is mostly melted. Stir until mixture is smooth.
- When the peppermint filling is firm, top with chocolate topping using a small offset spatula to spread evenly, then sprinkle on remaining crushed peppermint. Chill for another 30 minutes.
- Remove bars from pan and cut into 16 2- x 2-inch pieces. In order to get clean cuts, dip the serrated knife into hot water and wipe dry between each cut. Serve and enjoy minty chocolate goodness!
Recipe Notes
Always a crowd pleaser!
Where have these been all my life? Definitely a new holiday staple!
Mint chocolate is always a great combination, and using buttercream and ganache? These are dangerous!