Wednesday, March 16, 2011

I finally found it

So...I don't need a ground hog to tell me spring is on it's way...my allergies are taking care of that.  I did finally go and see and ENT specialist.  After a CT scan they found I had a small sinus infection and I go in for further allergy testing next week.  I am so ready to be done with the sneezy runny nose.

Life has been insanely crazy.  Lets just say, my mind has been so full of things going on that don't necessarily need to be shared here, thus my lack of posting.  I will say that along with the stress comes stress eating.  We have really tried to not keep junk around the house to eat, so therefore we have come up with our own creations to satisfy the stress monster.  

On to a better note...I finally found a chocolate mint brownie recipe worth sharing and blogging about.  Our FHE group met this week and the theme of the party was Irish foods as in St Patricks day is right around the corner.  Now...to those of my friends who know I am a foodie, let me just preface that my FHE group are not real accomplished cooks, but we love getting together and eating anyway.  Ralph and I were assigned dessert.  What is Irish and dessert that I can feed a lot of people with... I know Irish mint brownies (Irish is a stretch.)  The brownies were dense and fudgie, the frosting and topping were smooth and buttery.  That may be because there is a lot of butter in them, but we all know that butter makes everything taste better right?
Here is the link recipe I found   Famous Mint Brownies

Chocolate Mint Brownies – (Recipe for 1 1/2 times is in parenthesis fills a texas sheetcake pan)
Whisk together:
1 c. melted butter (1 ½ c.)
½ c. cocoa powder (3/4 c.)
And then add:
2 c. sugar  (3 c.)
4 eggs beaten  (6)
1 tsp. vanilla (1 ½ tsp.)
½ tsp. salt (3/4 tsp.)
Mix well and then add:
1 ½ c. sifted flour  (2 ¼ c.)
Stir in by hand.  Do not over mix.
Pour into 9×13 pan sprayed with cooking spray.  If making 1 1/2 recipe pour into Baker’s Half Sheet (large cookie sheet.)  Bake at 350 degrees for 25-28 minutes.  Cool for a few minutes and then place in freezer for 20 minutes.
While brownies are in the freezer make first layer of topping.
Mint frosting:
½ c. butter softened  (3/4 c.)
2 Tbsp. milk  (3 Tbsp.)
2 c. powdered sugar  (3 c.)
1 tsp. peppermint extract  ( 1 ½ tsp.)
green food coloring
Mix thoroughly.  Evenly frost brownies and put back in freezer for 20 minutes. Make chocolate ganache top layer.
Chocolate Ganache Topping:
½ c. butter  (3/4 c.)
1 ½ c. good semi sweet chocolate chips  (2 ¼ c.)
Melt and whisk together.  (I melt them together in a Pyrex measuring bowl in the microwave for one minute.  Be careful not to overheat.  It won’t look melted but once whisked it is.)  Drizzle warm chocolate over brownies and spread smooth with a spatula.  Put back in freezer for another 20 minutes.  Cut up into bars - a texas sheet cake makes 48 nice sized brownies. 
They really turn out like the picture and are so yummy.  It was a good thing they got mostly devoured at FHE or I would have eaten the whole pan. 

Ta Ta for now
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2 comments:

Charlie said...

Sorry about the allergies I hope you find some relief. Those brownies sound soooo delicious wish I was in your FHE group :)

Wendy Weixler said...

This is SOOOO not fair!!! I know that there are about a GAJILLION WW points in just one bite of those ... I REALLY WANT A WHOLE PAN-FULL OF 'EM!!!! :S