Mint Chocolate Walnut Brownies



When I was in college, not so very many years ago, I had a certain problem. Like most of my problems, it was bakery related.



My school was not famous for having particularly good food in its cafeteria (what school is?). Post-frozen pizza, slapped-together sandwiches (don't ever get a sandwich from a vending machine), and pink frosted grandma cookies.



But one small shop on campus actually sold fresh baked goods. And somehow, they were GOOD.



Doughnuts, cookies, big hunks of rice krispy treats, and...brownies. MINT brownies. These became a big problem for me. Like, a daily sort of problem.



I loved these brownies so much I actually ordered them from the school and served them at my wedding lunch.



Apparently I'm not the only one with this kind of problem though, because that school has been notoriously close-lipped on the recipe. No matter how hard you hassle them, they just won't spill. It's really pretty cruel I think. Get us all hopped up on brownies and then kick us out on graduation with no more way to get at the good stuff.



So this is my version, and it turned out to be a pretty good approximate. The brownies were a good balance between cakey and gooey, the mint frosting was particularly delicious (although I overdid it on the cocoa, making the chocolate layer more bitter than it should have been).



They weren't QUITE on to that elusive, addicting taste I had at school. Nevertheless, they didn't last long. And it's just an excuse to try again, right? It's never a burden to need to make more brownies.



Happy Valentine's!

BYU Mint Chocolate Brownies (adapted from this recipe in the BYU magazine...all right so they DID publish the recipe! But it didn't taste right, and I still think they are holding out on me...)

1/2 c. butter
1/2 c shortening
1/2 c. cocoa
2 Tbsp. honey
4 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 3/4 c. flour
1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. chopped walnuts
12 oz. chocolate icing (Use your own icing recipe or purchase some chocolate frosting.)

Mint Icing

2.5 T butter
2.5 T shortening
dash of salt
3 Tbsp. milk
1 Tbsp. light corn syrup
2 1/3 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. mint extract
1-2 drops green food coloring

Melt butter and shortening and mix in cocoa. Allow to cool. Add honey, eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Add nuts. Pour batter into a greased 9-by-13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool.

Prepare mint icing: Soften butter. Add salt, corn syrup, and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Add mint extract and food coloring. Mix. Add milk gradually until the consistency is a little thinner than cake frosting.

Spread mint icing over brownies. Place brownies in the freezer for a short time to stiffen the icing. Remove from the freezer and carefully add a layer of chocolate icing.

4 comments:

Cakebrain said...

For me, the baked good I still think about from UBC, is the UBC cinnamon buns. They are iconic and alumni talk much of their memories of these huge buns. I have the recipe and it tastes pretty much the same...maybe even better home baked.
I can see how those brownies can be addictive too! Looks good!

Kris Ngoei said...

The mint icing is such a lovely addition to the brownies and definitely increase the taste richness while combined with chocolate.

amlamonte said...

aw cakebrain i'm glad your nostalgic college dessert turned out well! better luck for me next time i guess...

Talina said...

Hmm, I totally agree on these brownies. Luckily, I didn't get addicted until about a month before I graduated. Something about writing a thesis and eating an unreasonable amoutn of baked goods just go together hand-in-hand. I'll have to try this recipe though. I haven't had one since my husband graduated so maybe I can fool my memory with yours :)