Peppermint Stick Chocolate Brownies
Brownies with a Christmas flair. Chewy rich chocolate with a dash of peppermint extract and topped with crushed candy canes. They taste like a Christmas treat and look like Christmas. Easy to make, they stay fresh for up to 10 days, but probably will never last that long. Perfect hostess gift, a gift for a favorite teacher or to keep all for yourself to enjoy with a cup of coffee or even a glass of Port. This is the same easy recipe as the Chocolaty Chewy Brownies, just with a holiday twist.
Ingredients
- 6 oz bittersweet chocolate (171g)
- 7/8 cup unsalted butter (199g)
- 2 cups granulated sugar (398g)
- 2 large grade A eggs
- 1 tsp Nielsen & Massey vanilla extract (4.3g)
- 1 1/2 tsp Nielsen & Massey Peppermint extract (6.5g)
- 1 tsp salt (6)
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder (20g)
- 1 1/2 cups King Arthur all purpose flour (185g)
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 cup peppermint candy canes (75g) crushed
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 325°for Convection and 350° for Standard bake.2. Lightly butter a 9" baking pan and line the bottom and sides with parchment paper. It helps in removal of the baked brownies if the paper is long enough to drape over the sides of the pan.
- Break up the peppermint sticks and place them in a plastic bag. Use a wooden rolling pin or even a hammer to break the sticks into pieces about the size of a green pea or smaller.
- Place a medium size mixing bowl over a pan of simmering water. Add the chopped chocolate pieces along with the butter. Let the mixture melt completely, stir to combine the butter and chocolate. Once melted place the bowl on a folded kitchen towel. Be careful not to let any of the moisture from the outside of the bowl get to the melted chocolate, as the chocolate could seize.NOTE: The towel helps hold the warm bowl in place when mixing in the remaining ingredients.
- While the chocolate is still very warm add the sugar. Keep stirring until the sugar has melted into the chocolate. Allow the chocolate to cool just a bit, (you don't want it to be so hot that it will scramble the eggs) then add the eggs, one at a time, allowing each to be completely absorbed before adding the next. Stir in the Vanilla and peppermint extracts.
- Mix the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder together. Carefully smooth out any lumps of the cocoa powder. Add this to the melted chocolate mixture. Using a rubber spatula, mix to combine all of the ingredients as quickly and gently as possible. Pour the batter into your prepared pan and sprinkle the crushed peppermint candy evenly over the top. I used a chopstick to stir it a bit so the pieces we partially embedded in the batter. This keeps them from falling off once the brownies and baked and cut into pieces. Place on the center rack of your oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes
- Baking times may vary depending on your pan. If you are using a glass pan, it will bake more quickly than a metal pan. There are several ways to test when they are done, one would be to insert a cake tester. For these brownies, you want it to come out slightly moist with a bit of crumb attached. You can also insert an instant thermometer. Chewy brownies are baked at a temperature of 170° to 175°. Keep I n mind that they will continue to bake a bit after removal from the oven.
- Remove from the pan and allow to cool on a rack. When completely cool cut into squares between 1" – 2" depending on your preference. Store in an airtight container.