Mint Brownie Cups

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.

Tagged as: Brownies, Chocolate, Peppermint