Chocolate Mint Brownies

Yesterday was my sweet mother's birthday! (She is now the ripe old age of 24... ;-)) We got to celebrate with a fabulous dinner and presents and I brought the dessert. My mom and I have been addicted to mint everything since as long as I can remember. If it is mint flavored, we like it! This is another great recipe from My Kitchen Cafe found here. I expected them to be super rich and they were pretty rich, but just enough so that they were still delicious. Although the ingredient list is a bit long, I had most of the things already on hand. I just used the ice cream chocolate syrup that we had in the fridge. Very tasty and very moist! Thanks to Melanie at My Kitchen Cafe for the picture.

CHOCOLATE MINT BROWNIES
From My Kitchen Cafe

Bottom layer:
1 cup all-purpose flour (about 4 1/2 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs, beaten (FYI: the original recipe replaces two of these 4 eggs with 1/2 cup egg substitute)
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (16-ounce) can chocolate syrup

Mint layer:
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
2 drops green food coloring

Glaze:
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons butter

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. To prepare bottom layer, lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and salt; stir with a whisk. Combine granulated sugar, 1/4 cup melted butter, 2 tablespoons water, vanilla, eggs, and chocolate syrup in a medium bowl; stir until smooth. Add flour mixture to chocolate mixture, stirring until blended. BATTER WILL BE VERY THIN! Pour batter into a 13 x 9–inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 23 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out almost clean. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

3. To prepare mint layer, combine powdered sugar, 1/4 cup melted butter, and next 3 ingredients (through food coloring) in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer until smooth. Spread mint mixture over cooled cake. (If you prefer the non-mint version: substitute vanilla extract for the mint extract.)

4. To prepare the glaze, combine the chocolate chips and 3 tablespoons butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at HIGH 1 minute or until melted, stirring after 30 seconds. Let stand 2 minutes. Spread chocolate mixture evenly over top. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Cut into 20 pieces.