Mint Brownie Dessert

Joshua and I made Sunday night dinner this week and I thought it would be a perfect time to try the mint brownie dessert recipe I found in my Taste of Home magazine. This was recipe twenty-four.

Heavenly Mint Brownie Dessert

2 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped

1/4 cup butter, cubed

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/8 t salt

1/2 cup plus 2 T flour

12 mint Andes candies, chopped

Filling

12 oz cream cheese, softened

6 T butter, softened

10 to 12 oz white baking chips

1 T shortening

1/2 t peppermint extract

3 to 4 drops green food coloring, optional

12 mint Andes candies, chopped

Ganache

9 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a microwave, melt unsweetened chocolate and butter; stir until smooth. Cool slightly. In a large bowl, beat eggs, sugar, and salt. Stir in chocolate mixture. Gradually add flour, mixing well. Fold in mint candies. Spread into a greased 9-in springform pan. Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack. For filling, in a bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until blended. In microwave, melt baking chips and shortening; stir until smooth. Cool slightly. Beat into cream cheese mixture. Add extract and, if desired, food coloring. Fold in mint candies. Spread over brownie layer. Refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours. For ganache, place chocolate in a small bowl. In a small saucepan, bring cream just to a boil. Pour over chocolate; stir with a whisk until smooth. Cool slightly. Spread ganache over filling. Refrigerate 30 minutes or until set. Remove rim from pan.

Okay, so obviously this recipe is a bit involved and requires coming back to it multiple times after a period of chilling, but the result is impressive. I tasted the filling when I put it on and thought it wasn't very minty, so I added 1/4 t of peppermint extract to the ganache as well. And I couldn't resist melting a little white chocolate to drizzle over the ganache layer to make it pretty on top. This dessert was so rich, and good. It was less minty than I was hoping though, even with my addition of peppermint extract to the ganache. The cream cheese kind of took over the flavor profile. I think it is fairly likely that I will make this again, but with some modifications.