Mint Chip Brookies

It really didn't take me long to at least decide on the flavor of Kevin's Christmas present. Kevin, our cousin Stefan, and I were talking at Thanksgiving and the topic eventually landed on my baking. One thing that Kevin gushed about was the Thin Mint Gooey Cake Bars I made YEARS ago (I'm still kinda surprised he didn't talk about the bars with mint Oreos that I made a couple years ago for Father's Day, considering within a week he asked me to make him [and Helen?] a second batch that he paid me to do). So I decided to search for a mint recipe. Eventually I decided on Mint Brookies from Crazy for Crust - like when I made Kati's peanut butter brookies a couple years ago, this recipe allowed me to use a box mix for the brownie layer so I would be able to make it semi-quick during the week.

I thought they baked great until I went to cut them: the brownie layer was a bit gooey, especially in the middle. But apparently they were a hit with Kevin because he brought a bunch to Auntie Vicki and Uncle Rob's house on Christmas Day. Stefan even commented that the gooiness of the brownies made them better.

Mint Chip Brookies (source)

Ingredients

Brownies

• 1 box brownie mix for a 9x13 pan, plus ingredients called for to make brownies
  

OR

• 2 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate coarsely chopped
• 2 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate coarsely chopped
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 
  3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• I also added a bag of Andes Creme de Menthe baking chips to up the mint flavor

Cookies

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 8-10 drops green food coloring optional
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9x13 pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.
2. If you’re using a brownie mix, prepare as directed on the box. Set aside.
3. If you’re making from scratch brownies: Place the two baking chocolates and butter in a large, microwave safe bowl. Heat on HIGH power for 2-3 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until chocolate is smooth. Stir in sugar. Add eggs, vanilla, and cocoa and stir well. Add flour and stir carefully. Set aside.
4. Make the cookies: Cream together butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl using a hand mixer. Mix in egg, extracts, baking soda, and salt. Stir in flour, then stir in food coloring if using, being sure to scrape the sides of the bowl to make sure all the dough gets turned green. Stir in the chocolate chips.
5. Spread brownie batter in prepared pan. Scoop tablespoons of cookie dough, flatten slightly with your hands and then lay over the top of the brownies. It’ll be hard to spread because it’s thicker than the brownie batter, so it’s best to drop flattened tablespoons evenly over the batter and then press lightly with your fingers to adhere them to each other.
6. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the tops are starting to get golden. The toothpick test in the center will come out with some crumbs on the toothpick.
7. Cool completely before cutting into bars.