Homemade Peppermint Marshmallows

For the first time in my short 25 years, I did not put up Christmas lights. Our little Norfolk pine is as naked as the day it first sprouted. There are no garland-laced IKEA bookshelves nor a scrap of lurking mistletoe. Scandinavian Christmas items at least accent our kitchen table as “A’s” mother helped boost sagging spirits. Very few Christmas-themed blog posts start out on a dour note, but this is my blog and it’s within my rights to ramble about my feelings, dammit! If we’re going to really get to talking about feelings, I’m not sure how I feel about Christmas this year. Yes, I’m excited, but not for the actual act of Christmas. I’m excited to see my family for one full, rare week. Presents? Eh. Giving them is what gets me going but all I “want” to receive are a few nice necessities that I can’t afford to buy all at once. 

But feeling this way about Christmas fills me with guilt. I’m usually forcing Christmas music and movies down “A’s” throat; but this year even I have to find a small stash of motivation just to press play. To put the nonexistent star atop the pine-like tree, there is apparently a national goat butter shortage. Not only have I stalked every grocery store in Madison, I've called every local goat farm to see if butter is something they do (obviously, it's not). I’ve had time to deal with the tragedy over the past month, but as butter is the main ingredient in cookies 99.9% of the time, I cant even make my usual mountain of treats! Maybe that’s at the root of my bah humbug?

Who knows. But I do know I need to get into the Christmas spirt, and about five minutes ago. To find the spirit of Christmas past, I had to go basic. Feelings of warmth, love and chocolate. With a seasonal flavor thrown in for good measure.

Santa Claus wrote me a prescription and it’s for homemade peppermint marshmallows, folks! I can feel the Christmas creeping back in to my grinch sized heart and dreams of marshmallow faeries filling my head. Doggonit! This did the trick - I’m CURED! Watch out though, to keep my spirits high, I may have the plow through some of these darlings daily from now until next Wednesday!  

Peppermint Marshmallows

Adapted from Arts and Tarts

Ingredients:

• 3 packages unflavored gelatin
• 1 cup cold water, divided
• 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• ¾ to 1 ½ teaspoons peppermint extract
• ¼ cup powdered sugar
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• Oil (grapeseed or canola preferred) 
• Food coloring

Directions:

1. Pour ½ cup of the water into the bowl of a stand mixer with whisk attachment and sprinkle gelatin over the surface; set aside.
2. In a small saucepan combine the remaining ½ cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Over medium high heat and with a candy thermometer attached to the side of the pan, cook the mixture until it reaches 240 degrees F. Immediately remove the pan from the heat once temperature is reached.
3. Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Once all the syrup has been added, increase the speed to high and continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, approximately 12 to 15 minutes. Add the peppermint extract during the last minute of whipping, starting with the smaller amount and increasing according to taste and desired strength.
4. While the mixture is whipping prepare the pans:
5. Sift together the confectioners’ sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Using a paper towel, spread the oil on the pans until it is well coated. Add the sugar and cornstarch mixture and move around to completely coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Return the remaining mixture to the bowl for later use (I had to mix up a bit more as my marshmallows were on the stickier side).
6. Pour the lukewarm mixture into the prepared pan, using a lightly oiled spatula for spreading evenly into the pan.  Drop about 6 drops of food coloring around the surface of the marshmallows and use a toothpick or knife to swirl the red into the marshmallows. Dust the top with remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture to lightly cover. Reserve the rest for later. Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for about 24 hours. Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and use oiled scissors to cut into desired shapes. Once cut, dredge the marshmallows with the remaining powdered sugar/corn starch mixture. Shake the marshmallows in a fine mesh sieve to remove excess clumps.
7. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

Moroccan-ish Carrot Salad

For the past few weeks months my CSA box has been overloaded with carrots.  We're not even talking your standard large orange carrots that cartoon bunnies nibble on, oh no. I have never seen, let alone cooked with, such colorful carrots in my entire life. White ones, purple speckled ones, rainbow bunches and tie-dye ones. I'm totally lying about the last one, but that would be pretty cool except I'm not so sure I'd want to know about the science that brought my hippie carrots.

I had thought I exhausted all the uses for the common carrot. Roasted? Check. Pureed into a variety of soups? Triple check. Gnawed up raw? Yep. In a carrot only salad? No… or at least not until a few weeks ago. I saw this recipe somewhere on the Internet a few weeks back and was excited to finally have a new use for my overflowing collection of carrots. Even better was I didn't have to turn on the oven and cause the heat to rise in my apartment to unbearable levels. That's the curse of having a 400 square foot studio and an incredibly powerful convection oven - the temperature of the oven is pretty representative of the temperature in my apartment. I guess worse things have happened in the world.

While I was pretty happy with this Moroccan-ish carrot salad, there are a few things I would have changed.  First off, I don't know if this was my or the recipes error, but I thought the carrots were a tad too firm. The smaller cuts were perfectly tender but some of the larger ones were nearly impossible to penetrate with a fork. As you might imagine, some carrots were leaping off the plate in my attempt to trap then within my tines. Second, I thought carrots alone were a little bland and there wan an excessing of dressing. My remedy was throwing it upon a bed of lettuce and calling it dinner. All in all, good & healthy salad.

Moroccan-ish Carrot Salad

Adapted from Crumb

Ingredients:

• 1 lb carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 tsp each cumin and caraway seeds
• 1 tsp spicy paprika
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp honey
• Salt and pepper
• Handful mint leaves, chopped
• Handful crumbled goat cheese
• Romaine lettuce

Directions:

1. Blanch the carrots for 2 minutes (note: I would increase the blanching time) in a large pot of boiling water, then plunge into an ice-water bath to stop the cooking process. Once the carrots are completely cooled, drain and transfer to a pretty salad bowl.
2. Using a dry skillet, toast the cumin and caraway over high heat for about 1-2 minutes or until fragrant. Grind into a fine powder using a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder.
3. Combine the cumin and caraway mixture with the paprika and cinnamon in a small bowl. Add garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and honey. Whisk until blended, then pour over the carrots and toss to coat. Set aside to the flavors meld, about 20-30 minutes.
4. When ready, serve over romaine lettuce and sprinkle salad with handfuls of chopped mint and crumbled feta.

Mint Chocolate Brownies (Gluten & Dairy Free)

Here is it - my first recipe post that follows my gluten free, dairy free diet.  I would be lying if I said this wasn't difficult.  I have never read so many nutrition labels with such concentration in my entire life nor have I had to pester so many waitresses to make SURE that smoothie has NO DAIRY (not even milk powder) in it.  That's not even the hardest part, I think that titles belongs to having to say no to friends.  To eat at certain restaurants, restrain from diving headfirst into their sandwich (still on the hunt for a good DF/GF bread) or just seeming like the weirdo with the nitpicky dietary concerns. 

Really though, it's not that bad.  I haven't had to deal with this for years, I don't even know if I'll have to deal with much longer (doctor's appointment is on May 5th) and I live in Seattle.  I think out of all cities to be gluten and dairy free in, Seattle must be one of the best.  PCC, Metropolitan Market AND Whole Foods are my meccas now.  Even Trader Joe's does a pretty good job (I'm a big fan of how well they label things).

And you know what's even better?  NO ONE knew these were gluten and dairy free until I told them!  In my book, that's a a huge success on the GF/DF front.  I brought them to the kickball game last week and everyone (the other team, the ref, my teammates) raved over them, asked for seconds and still contested that the fact that they were GF/DF free.

Mint Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

Three days.  It took three days for me to make this batch of cookies.  No, it isn't because this is an overly complicated recipe that calls for tricks to get them just right.  Or just because I said so.  These cookies took three days to make because of one big thunderstorm and three days without power.
These cookies had the destiny of being a Father's Day present for my Grandpa.  He loves the flavor combination of mint and chocolate.  Mint Chocolate ice cream, mint chocolate cake, mint chocolate…. oh, you get the idea.  I knew I wouldn't have time to make them on Saturday, so I decided to make them Friday night with the hope of giving them to him Sunday morning.  Oh, how fate decided to intervene.  Around 8 pm on Friday night, with everything mise en place, I began mixing up all the ingredients.  As with all cookies I make, I stuck them in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to work their magic.  If you're one of those people who can always predict the end of romantic comedies, you know what happens next.  The power went out.  Now this is Michigan, and I live in a neighborhood that's in the "country" (the suburban definition of country), so I didn't expect it to last long.  Maybe just a few hours of overnight.  Still, I couldn't open up the fridge, lest I let out some precious chilled air, to put plastic wrap over the bowl.  I went to bed dreaming of being able to bake the cookies in the morning.

I was wrong.  And severely disappointed.  The power was still not on, but my dad ran out to Home Depot at 7 am to buy a generator to save the food in our fridge.  It went on like this until when we came home from a Father's Day lunch on Sunday late afternoon.  While the power was on, I quickly baked the cookies and they turned out wonderfully.  They were so light and soft, but there was still a nice 'shell' around the cookie.  Ironically, the power went out again the next day (but only for a few hours) because DTE needed to fix something that was damaged during the storm.

So, the secret to making the perfect cookie?  Have the power go out, use a generator to power the refrigerator for three days and once the power goes on, frantically make the cookies before the power goes out again.

Mint Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients:

• 1 cup of butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
• ¾ cup cocoa powder
• 2 ¼ cup all-purpose flower
• 12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Cream the butter in a large bowl with a hand mixer for about 2 minutes until fluffy.  Add sugars and beat for 3 to 5 minutes.  This is crucial, the sugar crystals puncture tiny holes in the butter making it fluffy, ultimately resulting in a soft and fluffy cookies.
2. Beat in the eggs one at a time until well combined.  Add in the salt, extracts and baking soda, beat in.
3. Add in the cocoa powder and beat in (if you're not confident is your stills to beat in cocoa powder without covering yourself with cocoa powder shrapnel spewing from the bowl, feel free to use a spatula).
4. Once combined, beat in the flour ½ cup at a time.  Once combined, stir and fold on chocolate chips.
5. Cover bowl in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 minutes.  During this time, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
6. Using a small sized cookie scoop, or a tablespoon, make small balls of dough and place 1 ½ inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat.  Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack and store in an airtight container.

Happy Father's Day, Grandpa!!

Mint Chocolate Chip Cake

Happy 86th Birthday, Grandpa!  Today we celebrated my grandpa's birthday (even though his birthday is a little later in the week) and it was my duty to make the cake.  Of course, I didn't complain; it's more experience in the kitchen, more material for my blog and another chance to make my Grandpa smile!  His favorite ice cream flavor is mint chocolate chip.  As long as I can remember, every single time we have ever gotten ice cream, he always orders mint chocolate chip if they have it.  May summers in Frankfort were spent walking down to the Cool Spot and order ice cream with Grandpa.  I couldn't think of what kind of cake to make him until I was thinking about how much I wanted some ice cream (even if I can't eat it).  Then I remember my Grandpa's LOVE of mint chocolate ice cream and the cake was born!

I looked all over the internet and there were no recipes that I really liked.  Some required only mixing together the wet and dry ingredients - I know that wouldn't produce cake results I'd like (it'd most likely come out too dense).  Instead I turned my attention to King Arthur.  I based my recipe off their Chocolate Cake recipe.  I didn't want anything too chocolatey, as it would overpower the mint flavor I was going for.  But at the same time, I didn't want it to fall flat and taste boring like milk chocolate.  So, I had to improvise.  I also used my own recipe for mint buttercream - I just followed the rule of ratios.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, very soft
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 1 cup milk, warmed in microwave for 1 minutes
• 1/2 water, boiling
• 4 large eggs, separated & whites beaten until stiff peaks form
• ½ bag of creme de menthe chips

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease and flour three 8" round pans.
2. Place a strainer over a large mixing bowl. Measure in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cocoa, and sugar. Sift/shake the dry ingredients through the strainer into a mixing bowl, to eliminate any lumps.
3. Add the butter and mix at low speed for 1 minutes. With the mixer running, add the oil and continue mixing until the mixture looks like sand.
4. Combine the vanilla with the milk and coffee or water, and add all at once. Mix for 1 minute at low speed, stop and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, then mix for 30 seconds more.
5. Separate the eggs.  Beat the whites until stiff peaks form, set aside.  Beat in egg yokes one at a time.  Stir in creme de menthe chips.  Then gently fold in egg whites.
6. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Bake for 24 to 26 minutes.
7. The cake is done when the top springs back when very lightly touched in the center, and the edges just begin to pull away from the edge of the pan. A toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean.
8. Remove the cake from the oven and place on a rack to cool before removing it from the pan.
9. Once cooled, put the cakes in the freezer for about a half an hour.  When 'frozen' remove and cut layers in half (you will now have 6 'layers').

Mint Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:

• 12 tablespoons butter, softened
• 5 ⅓ cups powdered sugar
• ⅔ cup milk
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 teaspoon peppermint extract
• gel icing, until desired color is achieved

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, beat the butter at a low speed with an electric mixer or tabletop mixer.
2. Add powdered sugar, alternating with the milk, and beat to smooth, but thick consistency (you may need to add more milk or sugar)
3. Stir in vanilla and peppermint. If you want a less minty flavor, decrease the peppermint extract or leave out altogether.

Grandpa blowing out his candles!

Look at those six (slightly demolished) layers!!

Thin Mints

Don't you hate it when you go to the store to get one or two ingredients that you need for a recipe (but you didn't write it down because you SWORE you knew exactly what you needed)…and then come home to realize that you are missing something?  Cut to yesterday evening.  I was all ready to try making 101 Cookbook's All Natural Dark Chocolate Thin Mints.  I had wanted to try making these forever.  Then after I already softened two sticks of butter, I realized that (uh oh!) I didn't have any powdered sugar!  Alas, my creative culinary skills to the rescue!  I have made chocolate cookies before and didn't use powdered sugar.  And by knowing the basics of recipe ratios, I had to make due with the ingredients I had… and I must say, my results weren't too shabby (I think delicious is the right word).  The wafers weren't as thin as I would have liked because I left the dough in the freezer for a half an hour too long, but as a result the "inside" of the thin mint was so soft and fluffy.  And as I always do with my regular Girl Scout Thin Mints, I might stick a few in the freezer to see how they taste too!

I would also like to note that I successfully tempered chocolate for the first time… AND it was even on accident!  WOW, I never knew tempered chocolate could be so much better; everything dipped smoothly, it dried so much faster and the chocolate was SO shiny!

And in the spirit of Single's Awareness Day, I made the thin mints heart shaped and topped some off with a little bit of red decorating sugar.  Now, to all the hungry boys out there… While I have only once had a true Valentine (not counting all my guy friends that will be my 'valentine' for a day and eat chocolate and watch TV with me), if I DID have a Valentine, he would be on such a sugar high of homemade treats and love… it would be the best Valentine's Day ever.  Just a hint for next year.

Heart Shaped Thin Mints

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 cup white sugar
• 2 egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoon mint extract
• 1 pound of dark chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 tsp (or more) peppermint extract

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, beat butter until creamy. Add the sugar, and beat until mixed well. Beat in eggs one at a time, then the mint extract.
2. Sift flour, cocoa, and salt together into a small bowl. Add flour mixture by halves into creamed mixture, beating well after each addition.
3. Divide dough in half. Place into ziplock bags, flatten out, and freeze for 30 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). 
5. Allow to thaw for a few minutes and roll out dough.  Cut into desired shapes and place on cookie sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake 10 to 12 minutes.
6. Melt ¾ of the chocolate in a double boiler (aka a heat proof bowl over a pot of simmering water).  When melted, remove from heat, add peppermint extract and stir some.  Then stir in remaining chocolate until melted.  Dip in cookies, making sure to evenly coat both sides, and tap off excess.  Allow to dry on a silpat, parchment paper, or any other non-stick surface.
7. Share with friends and Enjoy!

Peppermint Mocha Truffles

This is the last of the "cookies" of my holiday plate this year.  I have been wanting to try making truffles for quite some time now, and I thought this festive recipe would be perfect!  I love biting into these truffles and having the hard crunch of the outer chocolate shell contrast with the soft minty mocha-y center.  Mmm.  The only issue I had with the truffles was melting the chocolate and successfully coating the chocolate centers.  The centers kept on getting soft (and difficult to work with) when I dipped them into the warm chocolate.  Next time I may freeze the centers first before dipping them in the chocolate.  Side note: I adapted these from My Kitchen Addiction... I'm not enough of a confectionary to invent candy recipes on my own yet.

Peppermint Mocha Truffles

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces cream cheese softened
• 24 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
• 2 tablespoons instant espresso
• 1 tablespoon water
• 2 teaspoons peppermint extract
• 1/2 teaspoon vegetable shortening
• Crushed peppermint candies (optional)
• Additional chocolate for drizzling (optional)

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine the instant espresso and water, whisking until completely dissolved.  Add the cream cheese and peppermint extract, and set aside.
2. In a double boiler, melt half of the chocolate chips (12 ounces) over barely simmering water until the chocolate is melted and smooth.  Pour the melted chocolate into the mixing bowl with the cream cheese, and use a hand blender to mix thoroughly.  Cover and chill overnight.
3. When ready to make the truffles, use a mini ice cream scoop (or clean fingers) to form little balls (about 1 inch in diameter) of the filling.  Place the balls on parchment paper or waxed paper.
4. Meanwhile, heat the remaining chocolate chips with the 1/2 teaspoon of vegetable shortening in a double boiler over barely simmering water until the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat.
5. Carefully dip each ball into the melted chocolate and coat on all sides.  Lift with a fork and let the excess chocolate drain off.  Place back on the parchment paper to let the chocolate set.  Sprinkle with peppermint candies, if desired.

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

 
Imagine a Thin Mint... you know, the best Girl Scout Cookie in existence.  Well, that's kind of what the chocolate part of this cookie tasted like.  And that's a good thing for people that you will be giving these cookies to, but for me it has turned into a dangerous addiction.  This was the largest batch of all the cookies that I made, so I put a few in a Tupperware for myself.  However, I cannot just have one!  I keep on going back for just one more... and then another... and you can see where this is going.  I will deffinately be making these again when it gets closer to Christmas.  Even though these cookies take a little longer to make due to all the refrigerating/freezing time, it's great if you'll be making one or  two types of cookies because when these are in the fridge, you can whip up a batch of Russian Snowballs.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 3/4 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
• 8 large candy canes or 30 peppermint candies, crushed
• 2 pounds white chocolate, coarsely chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325˚F.  Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a bowl.  Beat butter and sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed for 1 minutes.  Reduce speed to medium-low, and add the egg, then the yolk, beating well after each addition.  Beat in peppermint extract.  Slowly add flour mixture, and beat until just incorporated.  Shape dough into 2 disks, wrap each in plastic, and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.
2. Roll out 1 disk of dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness.  Using a 1 1/2-inch round cutter, cut out circles and place 1-inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets.  Freeze cookies until firm, about 15 minutes.  Repeat with remaining disk.
3. Bake until cookies are dry to the touch, about 12 minutes.  Transfer cookies to wire racks and let cool. (Undecorated cookies will keep, covered, for up to 3 days.)
4. Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of gently simmering water.  Remove from heat.  Dip tops of cookies into melted chocolate, and sprinkle with crushed candy pieces.

Cucumber and Feta Salad (and too much of it)

First and foremost - sorry for the photo quality. I usually don't have to do food photos shoots at about 9 at night - so I had to shoot inside with my tripod. Second, the pictures should be able to capture the disturbing amount of cucumber and feta salad I had to make. I think the easiest way to explain why I ended up with so many cucumbers (resulting in so much cucumber/feta salad) is to say it was the farmers fault. Well, that's not entirely true and I shouldn't totally blame the farmer. I was at the farmers market on Saturday where I purchased a copious amount of fruit and veggies. One very kind farmer was even nice enough to (essentially) give me a bunch of free apples - so many that I had to go into the Bivouac and pass them out because I wouldn't have room for them in my fridge! Anyways, I wanted to buy some zucchini because I wanted to make a savory Zucchini Ricotta Cheesecake. So I went up to a farmer (who was selling zucchini), asked to buy a basket of zucchini, and I though he sold me a basket of zucchini. Jump to this evening when I started peeling what I thought were zucchini's... and they were cucumbers. A lot of cucumbers. I have no need for this many cucumbers - so I had to improvise. After some browsing on the internet and a quick trip to Kroger later, I give you: Cucumber & Feta Salad!

I am surprised by how good this is! When I take a bite - feel like I am nibbling on Greece. I think I will make some pita chips tomorrow to eat this with... but I will also bring A LOT of this into work tomorrow because there is no way I can (or will) eat all of this. Please see this photo of reference (and note the size my camera lens cap) to see HOW MUCH I have:

I will post the normal, feasible sized recipe. I had to quadruple and a half the recipe just to use up my cucumber stash.

Cucumber and Feta Salad

Adapted from David Lebovitz

Ingredients:

• 1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced into pea-sized pieces (I did small cubes)
• coarse salt
• 8 ounces feta cheese
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon water
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 small red onion, peeled and finely-diced
• 1 tablespoon (each) chopped fresh mint, parsley and fresh dill

Directions:

1. Place the cucumber pieces in a colander, mix with a light sprinkling salt, and let drain 30 minutes to an hour, shaking the colander from time to time.
2. Crumble the feta into a bowl and mash together with the olive oil, lemon juice, water, and a few turns of black pepper.
3. Mix in the cucumbers, onions, and herbs. Taste, and add more salt if desired.

Grasshopper Brownies

Layered To Devour.

This recipe technically consists of three recipes, but it is so worth it. Imagine... mint chocolate chip ice cream but in a brownie form. Thought such magical things didn't exist? Well, they do! And let me lead you down a path of enlightenment towards grasshopper brownies!

Ingredients for Brownie Layer:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Ingredients for Mint Ganache Layer:

• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 10 oz fine-quality white chocolate, chopped
• 2.5 teaspoon peppermint extract
• Green food coloring (optional)

Ingredients for Chocolate Ganache Layer:

• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 10 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), finely chopped

Brownie Assembly:

1. Preheat Oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour an 8 inch square pan.
2. Melt the butter in a microwave in 30 second increments on full power until butter is fully melted. Transfer melted butter to a large bowl and beat in sugar with a fork until fluffy.
3. Beat in eggs one at a time until well combined, then beat in vanilla extract.
4. Beat/Stir in cocoa powder, flour, salt, and baking powder. Spread batter into prepared pan...and give the batter bowl and spatula to a loyal follower and allow them to lick them bowl. They'll be so generous they'll repay you somehow later.
5. Bake for about 27 minutes. Let the brownies cool on the counter for approx an hour, then put them in the freeze so they can 'firm up'

Mint Ganache Assembly:

Bring cream to a simmer in a 2- to 3-quart saucepan and remove from heat. Pour over white chocolate in a bowl. Let stand 1 minute, then whisk until smooth. Stir in peppermint extract (and some green food coloring if you want it to look 'minty') and chill, covered, stirring occasionally, until thick, about 1 hour.

Chocolate Ganache Assembly:

Bring cream to a simmer in a 2- to 3-quart saucepan and remove from heat. Pour over bittersweet chocolate in a bowl. Let stand 1 minute, then whisk until smooth. Chill, covered, stirring occasionally, until thick, about 30 minutes.

Now.... ASSEMBLE THE LAYERS!

Spread mint ganache over top of cooled brownie in a thin even layer using offset spatula, then chill until firm but still slightly sticky, about 30 minutes.

Spread chocolate ganache over mint and chill until firm, about 2 hours. Cut into squares and sucumb to the magic of mint and chocolate.