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Chocolate brownies truly are a baker’s friend. No matter what you throw in the recipe, it always seems to turn out surprisingly good. I mean seriously…what can go wrong with chocolate, butter and sugar?

The only thing worse than no brownie though is a dry brownie, thankfully these will never be guilty of that. I found this recipe a long time ago on Recipe Girl’s website and it’s my go-to brownie for all sorts of things. It’s super easy to make and even if you choose to just keep it plain with no additions, you’ll still have a serious chocolate fix.  But if you know me then you’ll also know I like to experiment. 

I took this wondrous brownie base and gave it some peppermint love. I think the inspiration seed popped into my head when I saw what my friend Shanna from Pineapple And Coconut did with her peppermint cookie post. She used this awesome cocoa powder from Silly Cow Farms so all I had to do was switch the regular cocoa powder in my brownie mix to the peppermint powder. The taste was good but it needed more mint flavor, then I remembered seeing these Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark chocolate bars at Cost Plus World Market recently. I poured half of the brownie batter into the baking tray and then placed the two chocolate bars side by side on top of the batter. Finally I poured the remainder of the batter on top and threw it in the oven. It’s not really rocket science but wow…

The result is a soft peppermint brownie with a chocolate bar layer running through the middle. The chocolate bar doesn’t even really melt to a squishy consistency but it does get soft.

 

 

Peppermint Bar Chocolate Brownies

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 9 people
Calories: 175kcal
Author: foodnessgracious
Gooey chocolate peppermint bars.
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Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 tbsp peppermint cocoa powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 stick unsalted butter
  • 5 ounces dark bittersweet chocolate chips 3/4 cup
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup light brown sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 Ghirardelli peppermint bark chocolate bars 3.5oz

Instructions

  • Line an 8 x 8 brownie pan with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Combine the flour, cocoa powder and salt in a bowl and set aside.
  • In a medium pan or small pot, melt the butter. Add the chocolate chips and whisk until smooth.
  • Add both sugars to the chocolate mixture and mix well.
  • Whisk in the eggs and vanilla.
  • Pour the liquid batter into the flour mixture and mix until lump free.
  • Pour half of the brownie mixture into the prepared pan. Place the bars of chocolate side by side in the pan, on top of the batter. You may have to trim a tiny bit of the chocolate bar to help make it fit.
  • Add the remainder of the batter on top and gently spread it our to cover the chocolate bars.
  • Place in the oven and bake for about 30-35 minutes.
  • Let cool for at least two hours before slicing.

Notes

This recipe could be used with any of your favorite chocolate bars. Just use regular cocoa powder in place of the peppermint version. Adapted from Recipe Girl, http://www.recipegirl.com/

Nutrition

Calories: 175kcal