Well it looks like you guys are chocoholics just like me and Braelyn! I’m so glad that you chose this recipe to be today’s post. I had so much fun making these fudgy mint chocolate brownies. Wait, fun making them or fun eating them???
Mint chocolate brownies will always remind me of my younger college days. There was a bakery on campus that made the most delicious mint chocolate brownies. I knew about them well before I was college aged. Every summer when we went to visit my grandma, she would always go down to the college bakery and snag at least 3 dozen of them to serve during our annual family picnic up the canyon. Yes, I miss those minty chocolaty morsels.
I was excited to come up with a great tasting brownie base recipe for my Fudgy Rocky Road Brownies, so as I was reminiscing about these Utah summer days I thought “Why not mint?!” So mint it is. When I went to make them I realized I was both out of potato starch and arrowroot starch, found in my other brownie recipe. I opted to use just tapioca starch and they turned out great. Now I can’t decide which brownies I like better. So, I’ll just like them both the same.
These brownies are fudgy without being gooey. They hold their shape well, and are definitely not the stereotypical dry and crumbly gluten free goodie. But, of course, you should know that by now…that I would never post a recipe like that anyway. Hehe.
I think the mint cream cheese frosting is my favorite thing about this recipe. The pinch of salt tones down the sweetness of the frosting and leaves you with just the perfect hint of mint. Okay, maybe a little more than a hint. I doubled the amount of mint extract that I thought I would put in…well, because why would you even add mint if you really can’t taste it, right?
And the chocolate shell on top just adds to the pronounced chocolaty flavor and makes them look that much prettier. You have to eat with your eyes as well as your mouth! That’s what I like to say around here.
Oh, and the best part??? These brownies can easily be turned into a full blown chocolate lovers dream sundae by adding a heaping scoop of mint chocolate ice cream and some mint chocolate ganache or chocolate syrup. Mouth watering. Must stop typing. Enjoy!
- For Brownies:
- 1 cup butter, melted
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup brown rice flour
- ½ cup white rice flour
- ½ cup tapioca starch
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- For Cream Cheese Frosting:
- ½ cup butter, room temperature
- 4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 3 teaspoons peppermint extract*
- 3 drops green food coloring
- pinch of salt
- For Shell:
- 1½ cups milk chocolate chips
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees for metal pan or 325 degrees for glass. Lightly grease and fully line a 9X13 baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a microwave safe dish, microwave butter in 30 second intervals until melted. Be sure to cover so it doesn't splatter. Pour in 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips into the warm melted butter and stir until chocolate is completely melted. Set aside.
- In a separate mixing bowl or stand mixer, beat eggs. Add sugar and beat until incorporated.
- In another smaller bowl combine brown rice flour, white rice flour, tapioca starch, xanthan gum, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt. Whisk together.
- Pour melted butter and chocolate into egg mixture and stir until combined. Then pour in flour/cocoa mixture and mix until incorporated. Beat for 2 minutes.
- Pour batter into lightly greased and parchment paper lined 9X13 cake pan and smooth batter evenly across pan with spatula.
- Bake for 37-40 minutes until set. Let completely cool before adding frosting.
- For frosting, beat together cream cheese and butter. Add 2 cups powdered sugar, 2 teaspoons peppermint extract and pinch of salt. Beat until combined. Add additional ¾ to 1 cup powdered sugar to reach spreading consistency. *Taste before adding additional teaspoon of peppermint extract to decide whether you prefer a stronger flavor. Add 2-3 drops of green food coloring and mix slowly until color is even throughout. Add additional powdered sugar to thicken or milk to thin.
- Spread frosting over top of brownies. Cool in the fridge for at least 20-30 minutes until frosting is a bit stiff.
- In a microwave safe bowl, heat 1½ cups chocolate chips in 30 second intervals until completely melted, stirring in between sessions. Stir for a while before adding additional heating time. The warm chocolate will continue to melt as you stir and you do not want to overheat the chocolate.
- Pour melted chocolate over cream cheese frosting and spread gently with a spatula. Return to fridge for at least 20 minutes or until chocolate shell has set.
- Cut into 15 bars and serve alone or with mint chocolate ice cream and chocolate syrup.
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