Brownies to Replace Presence of Boyfriend on V-day

Another guest post from Maria over in Indiana. Do these brownies not look scrumptious? I've been waiting since August to make these brownies (well, to be honest, I've been waiting two years). As an undergrad, my lacrosse team (and Lainey's!) were going to do a bake sale. I asked my grandmother for some recipes. Unfortunately, they didn't arrive in the mail on time (she doesn't understand how email works). One of the recipes was for mint brownies. I lost the recipe and didn't find itagain until this August when I moved.

The recipe calls for either mint chocolate chips or peppermint extract. For some reason I thought she said mint extract. I was so confused; I couldn't find it in any grocery. I asked around and someone said it's usually available around the holidays. I searched and searched come November and December. Nada! I forgot about the recipe until my neighbor and good friend Melanie and I began baking together weekly. We were talking about our love of the mint and chocolate combination, and I mentioned the brownie recipe. Melanie suggested peppermint extract. I was hesitant, so I read the recipe again. Yep, sure enough, Grandma said peppermint extract. (By the way, there is such a thing as mint extract. I may have to order some online.)

Melanie and I made the brownies Thursday afternoon (our weekly baking time). We doubled the recipe so we could each have lots of minty, chocolatey goodness. They turned out to be amazing. These are quite possibly the best brownies I have ever tasted. For those of you who know me, you know my obsession with the boxed triple chunk brownie mix. These are even better. Note: Don't eat two brownies and drink a glass of milk before running for 40 minutes. You WILL feel sick to your stomach. Brownies are best consumed post-run.

Grandma's Chocolate Mint Brownies

1/2 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 eggs
2/3 cups butter
1 2/3 cup mint chocolate chips or semi-sweet chips with 2 drops of peppermint extract
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix sugar, flour, cocoa, vanilla, baking powder and eggs. In a small saucepan, melt on low to medium-low heat (keep stirring) butter and 1 cup of chocolate chips. Add butter/chocolate mixture to the other ingredients and stir. Add 2/3 cups chips and chopped nuts. Grease a 13x9x2 pan (or a 9x9 for thicker brownies). Pour in brownie mix and bake for 30 minutes (you want the center to be just set).

For other recipes by Maria see: soup, squash, muffins, risotto and chicken.