Enjoy a taste of the holiday season with these decadent treats. Rich chewy chocolate pairs perfectly with fresh peppermint in this twist on the traditional brownie.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 35 minutes
Total Times: 1 hour 5 minutes
Special equipment: square baking tin and hand mixer
Ingredients:
226g unsalted butter
170g light brown sugar packed
170g caster sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp peppermint extract
3 eggs
1 egg yolk
226g dark chocolate cut into chunks
85g cocoa powder
85g plain flour
Directions:
Preheat oven to 180°C/Gas 4.
Line an 21x21 cm square pan with parchment paper. To make it easier to remove the brownies later, have an overhang of parchment paper over the edges of the baking pan. Set aside when done.
Place the butter in a heat-proof bowl and microwave to completely melt the butter.
Add the brown sugar, caster sugar and salt while the butter is still warm. Mix to combine the butter and sugars together until you have a smooth paste.
Add the vanilla, peppermint extract, eggs and egg yolks to the butter-sugar mix. Whisk in the eggs until they have been incorporated into the butter sugar mix. Using a hand mixer, whisk the butter-sugar-egg mix on medium speed, until the batter becomes pale in color (about 2 minutes).
In a separate bowl, sift the flour and cocoa powder together.
Add the flour-cocoa mix into the wet ingredients (in two batches if that’s easier) and mix it in until just combined. DO NOT OVER-MIX. Add about ⅔ of the chopped chocolate halfway through the mixing in of the flour. The goal is to make sure the batter is not over-mixed when the flour is being incorporated.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Spread the batter evenly. Sprinkle the rest of the chocolate on top.
Bake for 30 – 40 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and let it cool down to room temperature. Remove the brownies from the pan and let them chill in the fridge for a couple of hours (chilled brownies are easier to cut).
Cut the brownies into 9 pieces. Use a warm knife to cut, making sure to clean the blade after each cut for clean, neat edges.
Tips:
Use this base brownie recipe to add your own favourite flavours in any season!
To decorate: melt white chocolate to drizzle on top and crush candy canes to sprinkle over the top.
