York Peppermint Brownies!!!
This recipe has gotten more views than any recipe I have ever posted since I’ve been writing this blog… ever. The problem is that it was one of the very FIRST recipes I ever posted, so the photos were GARBAGE. Not that I’m any kind of professional food photographer now or anything… ummmm no. Most of what I’ve picked up in the photo department has been from the Tasty Food Photography e-book written by Lindsay from A Pinch of Yum. Teaching is SO her calling.
Anyway, besides the photos looking like I set a toddler loose with a cheap camera phone, I’ve had several comments and even more emails asking for photos of the finished product as well as a little help.
So I’ma try to help a little bit.
Several readers have contacted me about the peppermint patties rising up and making an ugly (but delicious) mess out of these brownies. I made a few batches and couldn’t figure out the problem… until I bumped the temperature up a little bit. 350 instead of 325 made a few peppermint patties bust through the top of the brownies. All ovens cook differently- mine runs super hot – so if you’ve had problems with a York Peppermint Brownie mess, check your oven temp.
I’ve had a few inquiries about the brand of peppermint patty– I always use York, but I don’t think it matters. I’ve had a a couple of readers use After Eights with total success. And here’s the great thing about brownies: you can pretty much put whatever you want in them.
Reese’s cups? Yes. Pretzels? Definitely. Thin mint Girl Scout Cookies? Ohhhh my gosh yes. Also if someone can procure some Thin Mints, Samoas, and Tagalongs for me I will… I don’t really know yet, but I’ll do something super thankful and great.
If you want the exact specifics of the brownies shown in these photos, here it is: I used a 9 X 9 pan (my original recipe calls for an 8 X 8, but I exploded mine in the oven one day… now 9 X 9 works just fine for me.) and THIS brownie recipe. It’s my favorite basic brownie recipe using chocolate chips instead of cocoa powder. The results are dense and fudgey with that thin crinkly wisp of chocolate that bakes up across the top. I love them. I spread half the brownie batter across the bottom of the pan and then evenly spaced 16 snack size York Peppermint Patties over the batter. Then I spread the other half over the top of the peppermint patties.
In a 9 X 9 pan I had to streeeeetch it, but it worked. I baked ‘em for 30 minutes at 325.
And I let them cool completely before cutting (if you are not concerned with appearances please feel free to eat them warm from the pan with a fork… I might or might not be guilty of this).
I hope this helps!! Thanks for all the comments, emails, and feedback- I was really glad to have an excuse to make 3 batches of these again. Tasty research and all that.
For the original York Peppermint Brownie post click HERE.
These sound incredibly rich and decadent… my kind of dessert!
Jen @ Savory Simple recently posted…Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Banana Cake
Hey, Jen! All desserts are my kind of dessert… but these are definitely among my favorites.
Love the pictures!!! I really miss peppermint patties, my grandma used to keep those in the freezer and we’d eat them cold….so damn good…so damn jealous LOL
hopefuladdict recently posted…January 29, 2013 – I <3 cooking
When we go on road trips and wander in a convenience store for junk food/candy I always gravitate towards the big york peppermint patties. Dark chocolate is healthy, right? Right.
Oh my these look amazing Heather! I’ve made a pretty similar recipe, I think it’s by Dorie Greenspan. We can’t get York peppermint patties here but we do have something that looks very similar so I used those. Brownie heaven!
NickkiT recently posted…New blogging event “Dish of the month” – Nigel Slater’s Marzipan & Berry Cakes/Mincemeat hotcakes with brandy butter
I’m so behind the curve on amazing bakers- I know Dorie Greenspan is like a kitchen guru/baking genius but I’ve only ever actually seen one of her recipes- a Lemon Loaf Cake from a Tuesdays with Dorie post I read somewhere. That cake was seriously to die for. I always have the stuff to bake from-scratch brownies, but I think these have been so popular because they are just as great with a box of brownie mix.
Oh yes the lemon loaf cake is a gorgeous recipe. I love Dorie’s recipes. I love recipes like this that you can either make from scratch or adapt with a box mix
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Oh my gosh these sound so good. They look really gooey too. Thanks for the idea, and congrats on having such a popular post!!
Erin’s DC Kitchen recently posted…Winter Squash with Sugar-Toasted Almonds
Your photography is amazing….really! And I wish I could fit these calories into my daily. They look absolutely wonderful!
188 calories for the brownie; the peppermint patties are 60. That’s do-able! And thank you!
This sounds amazing- Peppermint Patty’s are my favorite! Pinned and I am your newest follower!
Christi recently posted…The Not So Perfect Mom Meal Plan #1
Hi, Christi! Thanks so much!!
Can’t wait to try these…you are just SO awesome
zannyro recently posted…I CAN NEVER CUT THIS TREE DOWN…
No YOU are!
Seriously.
WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO ME?! Hahahaha!! god, these look good! I could definitely scarf down a pan full with fork or without right now! Plus, I leanred something new – I learned the phrase “peppermint patty” which to begin with ahd me entirely confused, until I realised it was an After Eight!
thepinkrachael recently posted…D-Day
The girl that emailed me and made them with the After Eights lived in Spain! Hahaha. It’s good that these brownies are gone right now because in my current state today I would SO eat the whole pan with a fork. And chase it with Boozey Hot Chocolate.
Now I know exactly what to do with one of the many boxes of thin mints we ordered from multiple Girl Scouts this year. These look amazing, Heather! I can see why so many readers would love these!
Ummm.. I am so jealous of your Thin Mints. I can’t get a Girl Scout cookie to save my life!! I need a stack of Thin Mints and an armload of Samoas. Forget the brownies!!!
Thank goodness I didn’t order any Samoas…those are my weakness, well, one of many!
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You had me at “crinkly wisp.” LOVEEEE. So liiiike, I am still totally obsessed with aforementioned brownie wisp (btw, ‘wisp’ is much a cuter word than ‘skin’ which is what I was previously using and made me sound like a brownie cannibal) and I had no idea that using chocolate chips vs cocoa powder would give me more of that tasty, luscious skin–er, wisp. IN LOVE.
PS, I swear I’m not a cannibal.
Hayley @ The Domestic Rebel recently posted…Red Velvet Cookies n Cream Magic Bars
Your comments are cracking me up right now. I’m not sure if it’s the chocolate chips that produce that result? It might be though because my Starbucks double fudge brownie recipe uses melted chocolate AND cocoa and it is wisp-less. So any way… IF you were to be a cannibal of some kind, brownie cannibal would be the best I think. Wispy skin = Amazing brownie. I think that was an SAT analogy.