Thursday recipe - Mint Brownies

Okay, I'm going to jump on the bandwagon of recipe sharing and share some of my favorite recipes from time to time. This week's recipe is a variation on a mint brownie recipe that I found around last Christmas. It's fairly simple - I use unsweetened baker's chocolate to make the brownies as I prefer the taste and consistency of the brownies made this way, but I'm sure a brownie mix would work just as well. I don't have a picture to post at the moment, but next time I make them, I'll snap one to share.

Ingredients:
6 squares unsweetened baker's chocolate
1 1/2 cup butter
2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 cup flour
1 container white cake icing
Mint extract
Green and yellow food coloring

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 13'x9' pan; set aside. Melt 1 cup butter and 4 squares baker's chocolate in medium pan over low heat. Once chocolate has melted and is a smooth consistency, remove from heat; add eggs and stir. Add sugar, salt, and flour. Stir until well blended. Pour into pan. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 1 hour.

While waiting for brownies to cool, prepare icing mixture. In icing container, add mint extract to taste. (I always like more than the normal recipe calls for. I usually end up using about 1/3 of a bottle of extract, but that may be too strong for your taste.) Stir in green and yellow food coloring until icing is desired color. Spread over cooled brownies.

In a small pan, melt 2 squares bakers chocolate with 1/2 cup butter over low heat. Once smooth, carefully pour over icing in stripes, OR pour chocolate into a sandwich bag, snip off a corner and carefully squeeze over icing in designs. Refrigerate. Served best when chilled.