Junior Mint Brownies

This recipe comes from one of my favorite holiday cookbooks, The Pastry Queen Christmas by Rebecca Rather and Alison Oresman. I have found so many wonderful recipes in this cookbook, and these minty brownies are one of my absolute favorites. I really like this recipe because it is simple and produces a wonderfully moist and fudgy brownie. These brownies are quite rich so I would suggest cutting them into small bite-sized pieces which I found to be the perfect size for serving, especially at holiday parties.

Junior Mint Brownies 
1 cup Unsalted Butter
6 ounces Bittersweet Chocolate Chips (use at least 60% cocoa)
2 cups Sugar
4 Eggs
1 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
2 teaspoons Vanilla
4 packages Junior Mints (1.84 ounces each)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x13 inch pan with baking spray, line with parchment paper then spray parchment with baking spray. In a medium sized sauce pan over medium heat, melt butter and chocolate chips just until melted. Once melted remove from heat and allow mixture to cool for 10 minutes. In a separate bowl whisk together flour, sugar, and salt. Then in another bowl mix together the eggs and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and the egg mixture to the cooled chocolate and mix until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan smooth the top then arrange the Junior Mints in even rows across the top of the batter, making rows of 10 down and 8 across. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until edges pull away from sides and center is set. Cool brownies in pan then freeze uncovered for about an hour to make the brownies easy to cut.

Recipe from The Pastry Queen Christmas 

Mint Chocolate Layer Cake

Yesterday D and I had our first barbecue of the season. We invited our friends Jay and Stacey over for some drinks, barbecue, and cake. While it was still a bit cold in the evening, the day was perfect. The sun was out and the temperature was in the 60s. D and I spent some time in the yard enjoying the warm weather. By the time our friends arrived the temperature had dropped and so we had to eat inside, but still had a great time and great food.

Devil's Food Cake 
2 2/3 cups Granulated Sugar
1 1/2 cups Cocoa Powder
1 1/3 cups Bread Flour
1 1/3 cups Cake Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Soda
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
8 tablespoons Powdered Buttermilk
6 Eggs
2 cups Water
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 1/2 cups Unsalted Butter, Melted

Makes 4, six inch layers
Note: For this cake we will only be using 3 of the layers. You could use the remaining batter to make a few cupcakes or a single layer cake.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 3 six inch cake pans with cooking spray. Whisk together all of the dry ingredients and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer beat the eggs for one minute. Add the vanilla, sour cream and water, mix on low until combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix until smooth, then  mix in melted butter. Pour batter into the prepared pans and bake for 40- 45 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool in pans on a wire rack for 20 minutes then remove the cakes from the pans and place them directly on the wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled cakes can be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for a few hours to make trimming the tops easier.

Adapted from The Professional Pastry Chef: Fundamentals of Baking and Pastry, 4th Edition

Peppermint Buttercream 
1 cup Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
3 1/2 cups Powdered Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Peppermint Extract
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
4 drops Green Gel Food Coloring, if Desired
1-2 tablespoons Milk

In the bowl of an electric mixer beat butter till fluffy. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time and beat on low to incorporate. Add the vanilla, peppermint, milk, and food coloring (if using), increase the speed and beat for a few minutes until frosting is nice and fluffy.

Ganache 
3 ounces Heavy Cream
4 ounces Semi-Sweet Chocolate
1 tablespoon Unsalted Butter
1/4 teaspoon Vanilla

Heat the butter and cream over medium heat until cream is hot and butter is melted but mixture is not boiling. Pour butter and cream mixture over chocolate and allow to sit for 5 minutes then stir till smooth. Stir in the vanilla.

Assembly 
Using a serrated knife trim the tops of the cakes to form 3 even layers. Place the first layer on a cake board and frost the top of the cake with about 1/8 inch thick layer of frosting, leaving 1/4 inch around the edge unfrosted. Place the second layer on top of the first and frost as you did the first layer. Top with the final layer and frost the entire cake with a very thin layer of frosting. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Frost the cake with the rest of the frosting and refrigerate again for 30 minutes to allow frosting to set. While cake is in the refrigerator make the ganache. Once frosting has set pour the ganache over the top of the cake letting it drip down the sides and decorate with sprinkles, if desired. Put cake back in the refrigerator for another 30 minutes or until 30 minutes before the cake will be served.

Mint Chocolate Parfait

When you find yourself wearing your Halloween socks in March you know you have seriously been neglecting the laundry. And in case you are wondering, yes I do have Halloween themed socks, they were a gift, and yes I have on occasion worn them when it is no where near Halloween (like today for example). Now you may be wondering what this has to do with a parfait? This has nothing to do with a parfait, nothing at all, I just though I'd share.

A Minty Parfait
1 pint Heavy Whipping Cream
1/4 cup Powdered Sugar
2/3 cup Granulated Sugar
1/4 cup Corn Starch
1/8 teaspoon Salt
2 1/2 cups Milk
2 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
2 teaspoons Vanilla, Divided
3 tablespoons Cocoa Powder
1 package Cool Mint Oreo Cookies

In a medium sized sauce pan, whisk together the granulated sugar, corn starch, salt, and cocoa. Gradually stir in the milk and cook over medium heat until the mixture comes to a soft boil. Let boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in the butter and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. To cool quickly, pour pudding into a medium sized bowl. Make an ice bath using a large bowl filled 1/4 of the way full with water and ice. Carefully put the bowl with the pudding into the ice bath and stir pudding until steam subsides, about 5 minutes. Set pudding aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer beat the heavy whipping cream until it holds its shape. Add the powdered sugar and remaining teaspoon of vanilla, beat to incorporate. Line the bottom of a parfait dish (or a medium sized bowl) with one layer of Oreo cookies. Then top cookies with a layer of chocolate pudding and then a layer of whip cream. Continue adding the layers, ending with the whip cream. If you have a few cookies left over, you can chop them up in a food processor and sprinkle them on top.