This is a very special post. No, not because it contains the recipe for an amazing dark chocolate brownie. It marks both the 100th post and the first anniversary of Domestic Pursuits. I’ve enjoyed sharing my cooking adventures and look forward to working my way through many more interesting recipes and domestic activities in the coming year. Happy Anniversary to us!

Now onto the delicious part…

After picking up a container of Edy’s Slow Churned Pumpkin ice cream last night, I decided that I needed brownies to go with it. Pumpkin and chocolate is my new favorite flavor combination and you just can’t go wrong with brownies a la mode!

I love this recipe for mint brownie cups and decided to eliminate the mint extract to yield traditional brownies. As I started baking, I realized that I didn’t have the right balance of chocolate, so these brownies contain more bittersweet chocolate than the originals. Since I eliminated the mint extract, I decided to add some amaretto to further emphasize the richness of the chocolate. These changes yielded a decadent brownie with a smooth, dark chocolate flavor.

Dark Chocolate Brownie Cups
Yields 14-16 brownies

6 tbsp butter
6 oz bittersweet chocolate (chopped)
2 oz. semi-sweet chocolate (chopped)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp amaretto
1/4 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2 Line a muffin tin with paper liners. Lightly spray liners with cooking spray.
3. In a heat-proof bowl, melt together butter and chocolate in the microwave in 30 second intervals stirring after each interval until smooth. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
5. Whisk or beat the sugar into the chocolate mixture.
6. Add eggs, amaretto and vanilla extract to the chocolate mixture and mix until well combined and smooth.
7. Add flour mixture and mix until combined.
8. Gently fold in the 1/2 cup chocolate chips.
9. Pour batter into prepared muffin cups. Each cup should be about 2/3 full.
10. Bake for 18-23 minutes or until a cake tester comes out with a few crumbs.
11. Allow brownies to cool before removing from muffin pan.

I picked up a bag of Andes Creme de Menthe baking chips at Target shortly after Christmas. I had thought that they’d be the perfect addition to some chocolate chocolate-chip cookies or basic brownies, as they’re essentially crushed Andes mints. After my holiday baking frenzy wound down, I promptly forgot about them.

As I was perusing older recipes from some of my favorite blogs, I found the perfect recipe in which to use my crushed Andes mints: the Peppermint Brownie Cups on Baking Blonde’s Weblog. The recipe looked like the perfect combination of mint and chocolate, and I liked that the brownies were pre-portioned using a muffin tin. I always say that I’m going to freeze most of the brownies that I make, but within a matter of days my husband and I have consumed every last one. Once the pan is out of the oven, my self-discipline goes out the window!

This was only my second time making brownies from scratch, and they’re just perfect! The brownies have a rich, chocolate flavor and a consistency that’s dense and chewy, but not too heavy. I followed the recipe quite closely, deviating only to use my Creme de Menthe Chips in place of the Peppermint Crunch Chips, and to top the brownies with mini chocolate chips.

After enjoying several of the brownies, I stashed the rest in the freezer. When a chocolate craving hits, these perfectly-portioned brownies will be ready in an instant!

Peppermint Brownie Cups

Yields 14-16 brownies
6 TBS butter
6 oz semisweet chocolate (chopped)
2 oz. bittersweet chocolate (chopped)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/4 tsp peppermint extract
1/4 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Milk Chocolate Chips
2 cups Andes Creme de Menthe Chips or Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a muffin tin with paper liners. Lightly spray liners with cooking spray.

In a heat-proof bowl, melt together butter and chocolate in the microwave in 30 second intervals stirring after each interval until smooth. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

Whisk or beat the sugar into the chocolate mixture. Add eggs and peppermint extract mixing until combined and smooth. Add flour mixture and mix until combined. Gently fold in the 1/2 cup chocolate chips and 1/2 cup Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips.

Carefully pour batter to prepared each muffin liner filling about 2/3 full. Sprinkle a few Andes Peppermint chips over the top of each individual brownie. . Bake for 18-23 minutes or until a cake tester comes out with a few crumbs.

*Baking time will depend on your oven, watch carefully so you don?t overbake! Mine were done in 20 minutes.

Allow to cool before removing from muffin pan.
Keep brownies in cupcake liners until ready to serve to help prevent them from drying out.

As much as I love to make things from scratch, I?m usually a brownies-from-a-box kind of girl. Grab a box of Betty Crocker mix, throw some sort of chocolate chips on top, and you have a warm, chocolate-y dessert with minimal effort in less than 45 minutes.

I was swayed to attempt making brownies from scratch after my friend Meg brought these amazing chocolate mint brownies for dessert. These brownies require more effort then their boxed counterparts, but resulting dessert is certainly worth it. Since we?ll be visiting with friends for dinner tonight, I opted to make a special dessert treat.

The dense fudge-like brownie is covered with a sweet peppermint frosting and topped with a layer of hardened chocolate. The resulting dessert is more like a piece of candy than a typical brownie. While the final dessert product doesn?t need to be refrigerated, I prefer to store the brownies in the refrigerator and serve them cold. Served straight out of the fridge, these brownies have the taste and consistency of a decadent slice of fudge.

When I received a copy of this chocolate mint brownie recipe from my friend, she had made a few alterations to the original. I have found that her modified measurements (more milk in the frosting, and more chips and butter in the topping) result in smooth, spreadable frosting and enough chocolate topping to easily cover the entire 9×9 surface. Without the changes, I would imagine that the frosting would be too stiff to spread easily and there wouldn?t be enough chocolate topping to cover the brownies. Besides, is it ever possible to have too much chocolate?

Mint Chocolate Fudge Brownies

Adapted from familyfun.go.com

Yields about 2 dozen brownies

Brownies
1/2 cup butter
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Mint Frosting
1/4 cup softened butter
2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
4 to 5 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

Chocolate Topping
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
4 tablespoons butter

Brownies
1. Heat the oven to 350? and grease a 9-inch square baking pan. (lining with foil and coating the foil in cooking spray works well too)
2. For the brownies, place the butter and chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute, stir, and microwave for 1 minute more. Stir until smooth.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs.
4. Stir in the chocolate and the vanilla extract.
5. Stir in the flour and salt until thoroughly combined. Pour into the prepared pan, then bake for 25 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool for at least 1 hour.

Mint Frosting
1. Cream the butter and confectioners’ sugar.
2. Add the milk 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until it is smooth and spreadable.
3. Beat in the peppermint extract.
4. Frost the cooled brownies, cover, and chill in refrigerator for at least1 hour.

Chocolate Topping
1. Pour the chips into a microwave-safe bowl, add the butter, and microwave on high for 1 1/2 minutes or until the chocolate melts.
2. Stir until smooth.
3. Pour the chocolate over the brownies and smooth it with a knife. Refrigerate for 45 minutes or until the coating hardens.

Once the coating has hardened, cut the brownies into 24 pieces. When packaging brownies, place wax paper between layers of brownies to prevent sticking.