St. Patrick’s Day Mint Brownies

Happy St. Patrick’s Day on Monday! If you need an Irish(ish) treat, consider yourself lucky (as in luck of the Irish lucky).

These Mint Brownies are a mash-up of Ina Garten’s Outrageous Brownies, minty buttercream, and chocolate ganache. Nothing bad here. And you should know: When Ina Garten calls her brownies outrageous, she means it. These are super chocolatey, super fudgy, super everything brownies that I am betting will become your favorite brownies. Top that with creamy mint (green!) buttercream, and then a slick of chocolate ganache, and you have the brownie that a friend named the best brownie he’s ever had. We’ll take that, won’t we?

Green with envy? No, just green with luck.

These Mint Brownies are a mash-up of Ina Garten’s Outrageous Brownies, minty buttercream, and chocolate ganache. Perfect for St. Patrick's Day or any time you want an outrageous dessert.

St. Patrick’s Day Mint Brownies

Ina Garten’s Outrageous Brownies

1 pound unsalted butter
1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
6 ounces bitter chocolate
6 large eggs
3 tablespoons instant coffee granules
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
2 ¼ cups sugar
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Mint Buttercream, recipe follows
Chocolate Ganache, recipe follows

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 12-by-18-by-1-inch baking sheet.

Melt together the butter, 1 pound of chocolate chips, and the bitter chocolate in a medium bowl over simmering water. Allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the eggs, coffee granules, vanilla, and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature. 

In a medium bowl, sift together 1 cup of flour, the baking powder, and salt. Add to the cooled chocolate mixture. Toss 12 ounces of chocolate chips in a medium bowl with ¼ cup of flour, then add them to the chocolate batter. Pour into the baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes, then rap the baking sheet against the oven shelf to force the air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Bake for about 15 minutes more, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake! Allow to cool thoroughly, then refrigerate.

Using an offset spatula, spread the mint buttercream over the brownies, and refrigerate again. Then, using a clean offset spatula, spread the ganache over the buttercream, and refrigerate again for at least 1 hour.

Use a knife run under a hot water tap (and dried on a towel) to cut the brownies into squares. These keep perfectly in the freezer.

Mint Buttercream

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), room temperature
4 cups powdered sugar
Pinch of salt
¼ cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
2 drops green food coloring

Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then beat on medium-high speed for 2 minutes.

Chocolate Ganache

12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped 
1 ½ cups heavy cream

Place the chocolate in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the cream to a simmer. Pour the cream over the chocolate and let it stand for 1 minute. Stir the chocolate and cream together until smooth. Let the ganache cool to room temperature.