What happens when you take chocolate brownies and top them with a mint buttercream and a chocolate glaze? You get the best Chocolate Mint Brownies that taste like Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies.
These Chocolate Mint Brownies are delicious on their own with a glass of milk, but they also make a great addition to a Dessert Charcuterie Board or to tuck into boxes as fun Food Gifts. Be sure to check out the variations, too!
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When I was a kid, there was a mom on our street named Anne who was the most amazing seamstress and baker. She was famous for her Chocolate Mint Brownies. Perfect for serving at Thanksgiving, on Christmas Day, or Valentines, her layered mint chocolate bars were top notch.
Years later I adapted her recipe to be a Good Cheap Eat. Creme de menthe and an entire can of chocolate syrup were a little out of my price range.
I’m pleased to report that these Chocolate Mint Brownies are just as good as Anne’s, well worth the effort to make the multiple layers. They make a great Valentine’s Dessert!
Why Make This
These Mint Chocolate Brownies are amazingly good. With a layer of sweet chocolate brownie, followed by a peppermint buttercream frosting, and topped with a semi sweet chocolate glaze, these treats will top all other brownie recipes in the book!
They are freezer-friendly. I love to eat these Chocolate Mint Brownies straight from the freezer, but you can thaw them, too. lol
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this Chocolate Mint Brownies recipe:
flour – you can use all-purpose flour, pastry flour, or even gluten free baking mix in the brownie batter.
sugar – You’ll need granulated sugar for the brownie layer and powdered sugar for the buttercream layer.
unsweetened cocoa powder – This brings the chocolate flavor to the cake layer of the Chocolate Mint Brownies.
eggs – You’ll need two eggs for this recipe. You can also use flaxseed egg substitute if you need to.
oil – I like to use a neutral oil so that the mint flavor can shine through. You can also use butter or margarine.
extracts – I use vanilla extract in the brownie layer and peppermint extract in the mint layer. The vanilla helps round out the chocolate flavors while the cool mint extract is just enough to give you minty goodness in every bite.
salt – Salt really helps balance the flavors here. Don’t omit it.
butter – Butter is part of the buttercream layer as well as the glaze in these Chocolate Mint Brownies. You’ll need to soften it at room temperature for best results.
half and half – You’ll need just a bit of half and half, cream, or milk for the glaze layer.
chocolate chips – The glaze layer is made from melted butter and semi sweet chocolate chips.
Variations
There are so many ways you can tweak these double Chocolate Mint Brownies! Consider one of these options:
- Green Mint Brownies – Add a bit of green food coloring to the buttercream if you’d like a green layer.
- Mint Chocolate Chip Brownies – Stir mini chocolate chips or chocolate shavings into the buttercream before spreading it on the brownies.
- Mint Cream Cheese Brownies – substitute the buttercream layer with a half batch of our Fluffy Cream Cheese Frosting.
- Gluten-free – substitute gluten-free baking mix for the flour in the brownie layer. Be sure to check that all other ingredients have no gluten warnings.
- Anne’s original, boozy version – Substitute 2 tablespoons creme-de-menthe for the mint extract in the buttercream layer of the Chocolate Mint Brownies.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here’s how to make this Chocolate Mint Brownie recipe:
Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease an 8-inch square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray or line the pan with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, eggs, oil, vanilla extract, and salt. Whisk well to combine. Pour this into the prepared dish.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a tester comes out with a few crumbs attached. Cool on a rack.
To prepare the chocolate glaze, melt the remaining ¼ cup butter (½ stick) in a small sauce pot.
Remove the pan from the heat and dump in the chocolate chips. As the chips start to melt in the hot butter, whisk until smooth. Allow this mixture to cool.
To prepare the mint layer of the Chocolate Mint Brownies, cream together the powdered sugar and ¼ cup butter (½ stick).
Add the half and half and peppermint extract and whip until light and fluffy.
Spread this mixture over the cooled brownie layer.
Spread the cooled chocolate glaze over the mint layer. Chill for about an hour or until ready to serve.
To freeze: You can freeze these Chocolate Mint Brownies for up to a month. Simply wrap well and store in the freezer. To serve: thaw, slice, and serve.
TLDR? Watch the Double Chocolate Mint Brownies web story.
FAQs
Chocolate Mint Brownies taste amazing straight from the freezer! Once you’ve baked, cooled, and added the layers to your brownies, you can wrap them well and store the entire slab in the freezer. Alternatively you can slice into squares and wrap each one in plastic wrap before storing them in a larger container in the freezer.
Cake-like brownies often have more eggs than fudgy brownies. If you’d like to make these fudgier, use just one egg.
You can melt 2 squares of baking chocolate to use instead of the cocoa in the brownies. If you do, dial down the oil by 1 ½ tablespoons.
More Great Chocolate Desserts
Chocolate Mint Brownies
Equipment
- 8-inch baking dish
Ingredients
- ½ cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 egg
- ¼ cup neutral oil
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter softened (1 stick)
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon half and half
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
Instructions
- Grease an 8-inch square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray or line the pan with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350°.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, eggs, oil, vanilla extract, and salt. Stir well to combine. Pour this into the prepared dish.½ cup unbleached, all-purpose flour, ½ cup granulated sugar, ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 egg, ¼ cup neutral oil, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a tester comes out with a few crumbs attached. Cool on a rack.
- To prepare the chocolate glaze, melt ¼ cup butter (½ stick) in a small sauce pot. Remove the pan from the heat and dump in the chocolate chips.½ cup butter, 1 cup chocolate chips
- As the chips start to melt in the hot butter, whisk until smooth. Allow this mixture to cool.
- To prepare the mint layer, cream together the powdered sugar and the remaining ¼ cup butter (½ stick).1 cup powdered sugar
- Add the half and half and peppermint extract and whip until light and fluffy. Spread this mixture over the cooled brownie layer.1 tablespoon half and half, 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- Spread the cooled chocolate glaze over the mint layer. Chill for about an hour or until ready to serve.
Notes
Variations
There are so many ways you can tweak these double Chocolate Mint Brownies! Consider one of these options:- Green Mint Brownies – Add a bit of green food coloring to the buttercream if you’d like a green layer.
- Mint Chocolate Chip Brownies – Stir mini chocolate chips or chocolate shavings into the buttercream before spreading it on the brownies.
- Mint Cream Cheese Brownies – substitute the buttercream layer with a half batch of our Fluffy Cream Cheese Frosting.
- Gluten-free – substitute gluten-free baking mix for the flour in the brownie layer. Be sure to check that all other ingredients have no gluten warnings.
- Anne’s original, boozy version – Substitute 2 tablespoons creme-de-menthe for the mint extract in the buttercream layer.
Nutrition
This post was originally published on February 4, 2015. It has been updated for content and clarity.
Priya
These look delicious!
Nia
Made these and totally didn’t follow your directions. I accidentally added all my butter to the powdered sugar instead of holding some back to melt the chocolate chips. To add to this I added my chocolate layer before it was cool enough and ended up with the mint layer melting a bit. I ended up with a very rich “peppermint patty” brownie. After half the batch was gone I needed a change and had a thought that it needed ice cream. I mixed one into some vanilla ice cream and my goodness was it even more perfect. “Peppermint patty” brownie ice cream is allowed on my dessert menu any day of the week! Thanks for the recipe Jessica. I would absolutely use your recipe again, being sure to follow the directions next time. Oh and you’re right, an 8 x 8 pan is plenty for a family to enjoy a sweet treat.
Jessica Fisher
Sounds pretty amazing!
Christine
I made these for Valentine’s Day (along with heart shaped brownies) and I think they are one of the best desserts I’ve ever made! Thanks so much. Also, I used gluten free flour (Better Batter) since my kids have celiac disease and they turned out perfectly. Thanks so much, Jessica!
Jessica Fisher
Yay! Love to hear that.
Katieliz
These are amazing!! Three steps makes them more involved than most desserts I make, but wow, is it worth it! I found it helpful to chill it before spreading the chocolate glaze on. I’ll definitely make these again!
Jessica Fisher
So glad you like them. I agree; there are more steps than are optimal. But, that means we’ll not make them too often than is good for us. 🙂
Heather M
Wow, this recipe is similar to mine (well, my mom’s, but I’ve been making them forever!). The differences include: the extract goes in the brownie itself, not the buttercream. Buttercream is exactly the same. BUT, topping is less rich, in that all it is is unsweetened chocolate squares melted together with butter and then drizzled/spread on top and cooled. for some reason, the unsweetened chocolate balances the richness of the brownie and buttercream. Super yummy! the brownie recipe appears to be similar, but I can’t remember off-hand, although we go for regular old unbleached all purpose. 🙂
Karen
I’m happy to see a remake of this recipe! The recipe I got from someone called for hydrogenated shortening! Yikes! I also thought that since the mint flavoring is added to the middle, cream layer, that one, conceivably, could make any flavor one liked best…..hmmm, like strawberry, orange, vanilla, raspberry,…the sky’s the limit!! Thanks so much!
Jessica Fisher
Yep. I think you could alter the flavoring however you want. Coffee would be yummy.
Tanja
Those sound wonderful! My great aunt always made a recipe similar to this that I loved. I’ll have to try it.
Also, my husband is severely allergic to nuts and Hershey and Ghirardelli brand chocolate chips tend to be nut free. Also if you are looking for candy melts or other chocolates, I have ordered many times from the Vermont Nut Free website and we love their chocolate and candies. It’s a little pricey but worth it if I know it’s nut free!
Jessica Fisher
Thanks for the tip!
Nia Hanna
Hi Jessica,
I usually use ww (red not white or pastry) so I want to know the consistency of the batter for these. Should it be thick like brownie batter or looser like boxed cake mix. All my from scratch things seem heavier even with ww pastry flour. So I just wanna know what it should look like if I sub ww pastry flour for regular ol’ ww flour.
Jessica Fisher
I’d say it’s in between those textures, but more like a cake batter.