Chocolate is a top priority in my house any time of the year, so these Christmas brownies (with a balance of mint and chocolate) were a perfect idea for the holiday season!
Christmas is less than two weeks away, and while I have been done my Christmas shopping for a good month, I am still feeling panicked and rushed! So many Christmas parties, events, and just plain holiday bustle going on right now. Thankfully my daughter is on her last week of school before the holidays, which means we get to sleep in a bit! And that also means all her extracurricular activities are at a standstill (we all need a break.)
Even though this time of year is pretty hectic, I still enjoy making food/baked goods for people. My cousin asked me a few weeks ago if I could make him a festive dessert that screamed Christmas. I immediately had an idea in mind and while the vision did not come through fully, he still loved the Christmas brownies! I am so used to making cakes or large desserts that I fully panicked when he said it was lunch/brunch for roughly 30 people. This meant bite-sized desserts, and while cookies are a favorite of mine, I wanted something different.
These Christmas brownies are a balance between chocolate and mint. I used green mint chips to subtly add a nice mint flavor, while keeping the brownies themselves traditionally chocolate. The icing was a simple vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream that I would have made mint as well, but 1) sometimes mint can be overpowering, and 2) not everyone loves mint (me included!) However, feel free to make these Christmas brownies mintier if that is your thing 🙂
Now, for the design on top, I was totally inspired by these Rainbow Brownies. How cool are they?! I figured I would use the same icing technique and make them Christmas-like. While they came out festive for the most part, my problem lied in the actual brownies themselves (I forgot to grease my pan and some of the brownie fell apart...) Siiiggghhh, sometimes things do not work out according to plan. Let's just be happy that only one portion of the brownies really became a right-off (which we ate out of the pan!) So instead of flipping the whole square of brownies out of the pan and placing the icing across the whole square, I had to cut the brownies into little squares and THEN do the icing individually on each piece... Yes, 10x the work, but it worked! It would have been easier using the technique from the original website, but even this method held up (and if a mistake was made, you could easily wipe off the icing and start again without wasting a ton of ingredients.) I also find with my version you are left with the ability to be more creative in the pattern (I switched up the colors and thickness periodically.)
📖 Recipe
Christmas Brownies (Mint Chocolate Brownies)
This is a doubled brownie recipe, so it will take longer to cook as the brownies are extra thick! If you use a larger, flatter pan, be sure to adjust your cooking time accordingly.
Ingredients
- 1 cup melted butter
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 4 eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- Pinch of salt
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- ½ cup mint chocolate chips
- Topping:
- ½ batch of Swiss meringue buttercream or your favorite frosting
Food coloring
- Crushed candy cane (optional)
- Christmas sprinkles (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8 inch square pan. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer, add the butter, cocoa, sugars, and vanilla. Add one egg a time, mixing well between each. Sift together the flour, soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Pour into stand mixer and add chocolate chips, mixing until JUST combined.
- Pour the batter into greased pan and smooth out nicely. Place into oven and bake for about 40 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow to cool completely. Turn out brownies. If the brownies stay intact, add desired colored frostings into separate piping bags and cut off tip. Alternate colors across the brownies (see link in post for step-by-step photos.) Don't worry about neatness. Once completed, use a large, flat spatula to gently drag across the brownies to smooth out the colors and create a flat pattern. If brownies break coming out of pan, you can do the brownies individually.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 40 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 123Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 33mgSodium: 69mgCarbohydrates: 14gFiber: 1gSugar: 10gProtein: 2g
Christie
Love how festive you made these brownies plus the mint flavor - Yum!
Kacey
Thanks, Christie!
Beth
Kacey, these are so festive!! I always say it's a good thing when we make the mistakes so we can pass our knowledge to our readers!
Kacey
It sure helps! Especially when working with inspiration from another person's recipe 🙂
Amanda | The Chunky Chef
Like you, even though I'm done with the shopping and holiday meal planning... I still feel rushed and behind! Craziness! These brownies are soooo tasty looking 😀
Kacey
Can you imagine those who still have to shop?! Thanks, Amanda 🙂
DessertForTwo
So pretty and festive! And sometimes, the desserts you put the most effort into taste the best, don't they? 🙂
Kacey
We are all about the taste here (the dessert can look like garbage, but if the taste is there, I am serving it!)
Alisa Fleming
Brownies really are an anytime treat, but you've made them so festive with that topping - you really pulled it off! I've never tried a meringue frosting - definitely looking into that!
Kacey
It is my favourite frosting, Alisa! But as a dairy-free developer, I think you may have some hardship with finding a vegan/dairy-free one (it is all egg-white based!) But you are amazing so I bet you pull it off 😉
Meg @ With Salt and Wit
These are so festive! I love brownies and frosting together!
Kacey
Thanks, Meg! I am so used to having brownies with no frosting that I needed to change things up.
Marlynn @ UrbanBlissLife
These look and sound like amazing brownies! Love the use of mint chips within the brownie. Subtle and not overpowering. These would look beautiful on the Christmas dessert table!
Kacey
We are not crazy mint fans here, but the subtle use of mint was a success! Thanks, Marlynn!
Florian @ContentednessCooking
Haha so fun I posted a christmas brownie recipe today, too 🙂
Kacey
I am popping over now, Florian!
Susan | LunaCafe
They look so moist and chewy, I want to dive into the page. And I love the way you dressed them up for the holidays. Chocolate and mint are such a great flavor pairing. 🙂
Kacey
Chocolate and peppermint immediately make me think of Christmas 🙂
Carrie @Frugal Foodie Mama
How fun are these brownies?? LOVE that frosting on top! And you can never go wrong with the chocolate/mint combo during the holidays. 🙂
tanya
These are just so festive and fun! Sometimes cookies trays need a good brownie and this is it!
Nutmeg Nanny
These brownies are so cute! Totally perfect for the holidays 🙂