Mint Oreo Brownies

Two things I have recently become obsessed with:

1. Ever-so-lightly-pink lip glosses
2. South Park: The Stick of Truth

The polar opposite nature of these two things are basically me in a nutshell.

I love my crass humour and my video games, but will still occasionally have to pause and coo at the shiny girly things.

I like to think of these brownies as an unapologetically disgusting yet hilarious sense of humour topped with an extra sparkly hit of Dolly gloss. Like me!

Let me explain.

The brownie itself, in its base, is already a really good brownie. It’s fudgey, chocolatey, and just gooey enough that it, not unlike an inappropriate joke, kind of feels wrong to eat. You can tell just from the texture of it how bad it is for you, and how consuming too much will probably make you feel sick later, but for the moment, you’re on your third brownie and feeling pretty smug about it.

But then… wait… there’s more.

Like when the writers of South Park inject the unexpected addition of sexual tension into a poop joke, an entire layer of Mint Oreos march into the middle of this brownie, demanding your attention and holding it, whether or not you want to look away. Do they increase the inappropriateness level of these brownies? Absolutely. Does it make them EVEN BETTER THAN YOU DREAMED?

There is an ENTIRE LAYER OF MINT OREOS INSIDE OF THESE BROWNIES.

What do you think?

But then comes the drizzles of mint frosting. It’s a soft, gentle, unassuming shade green, all smooth and sweet looking.

Delicately drizzled over the brownie, it gives the impression of elegance with little touch of playfulness. I mean, if these brownies were truly as decadent as they could be, they would be slathered with frosting, not lightly drizzled, right?

No.

I see why you’d think that, but I did not drizzle out of daintiness. I drizzled out of necessity. Had I slathered instead of drizzled, these brownies would be instant food comas.

And I would like to eat at least two, so we can’t have that.

A drizzle adds a touch extra of mint flavour and hints at what could be inside, without making you feel like you’re dying after the first bite. At least not in the bad way.

I am obsessed.

Tanya – if you’re reading this, the pink gloss thing is totally your fault. Be proud.

Brownies

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks/8 oz.) unsalted butter
• 4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs
• 16-20 Mint Oreos (Depending on how tightly you want to pack them. I went tight enough that I cut ones in half to fill gaps. Go big or go home! Also, one package of Oreos will have enough either way!)

Mint Frosting

• 1 cup confectioners sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 1 tablespoon milk
• green food colouring (optional)

Directions

1. Brownies: Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line an 8×8-inch metal pan with parchment paper such that there is at least a one inch overhang on 2 opposite sides of the pan.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and salt; set aside.
3. Melt the butter and the chocolate together in the top of a double boiler or in a metal bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (make sure the bowl doesn’t touch the surface of the water), stirring frequently. When the chocolate and butter are both melted and smooth, add 1/2 cup of the sugar to the mixture and stir for 30 seconds then remove the mixture from the heat, and stir in the vanilla extract. Put to the side to cool slightly.
4. Put the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and the eggs into a medium bowl, and whisk by hand to combine. Little by little, pour half of the sugar and eggs into the chocolate mixture, stirring gently but constantly with a whisk or rubber spatula so that the eggs don’t scramble from the heat. Beat the remaining sugar and eggs on medium speed until they are thick, pale, and doubled in volume, about 3 minutes. Using the rubber spatula, gently fold the whipped eggs and sugar into the chocolate mixture. When the eggs are almost completely incorporated, gently fold in the dry ingredients.
5. Evenly spread half of the batter into the prepared 8×8-inch pan. Distribute Mint Oreos in an even flat layer over batter, pressing them into the batter slightly. Top with remaining batter and spread evenly over the Oreos, being sure to be gentle enough to avoid shifting the Oreos around.
6. Bake the brownies for 23-25 minutes, during which time they will rise a bit and the top will turn dry and a bit crackly. After 23 minutes, stick a knife or toothpick into the center to see how they are progressing (It may take a few tries to get between the Oreos to check). When they are ready, they should be just barely set—not too raw, but still fairly gooey (the toothpick should have loose brownie dough stuck to it, but not a thick, goopy amount).
7. Cool the brownies in the pan on a rack. Meanwhile, make the frosting.
8. Frosting: Whisk together confectioners’ sugar, melted butter, peppermint extract and 1/2 tablespoon of milk until smooth. Add remaining 1/2 tablespoon of milk if necessary. Frosting should still be a bit thick as it is piped instead of actually drizzled, but feel free to add more milk as you deem necessary. Add frosting to a piping bag with a simple tip cut with scissors or a small circle piping tip if desired.
9. When brownies are completely cool, use the parchment sling to remove them from the pan. Pipe frosting over brownies in your desired pattern (I went for the simple criss-cross!). Cut and serve.

Note: To serve a crowd, the recipe doubles into a 9×13-inch pan. They may need a couple extra minutes of baking, depending on your oven.

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