Chocolate Mint Brownies

I made these brownies in preparation for St. Patrick's day. Who doesn't want to eat a little lucky green! The taste reminds me of Andes mints, which I love!

I had to make the brownies twice because I left out the flour in the first batch. Don't do that!

Adapted from here.

Ingredients:
 Brownies:
4 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate (you can substitute 3/4 C cocoa powder and 1/4 C oil if you want)
1 C margarine, softened
2 C sugar
3 eggs
2 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 C flour

Green layer:
1/2 C butter, softened
3 C powdered sugar
2 Tbs milk, give or take
1 tsp mint extract
green food coloring

Chocolate Coating:
1 1/3 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
6 Tbs butter
1/2 Tbs vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Melt the unsweetened chocolate in the microwave, stirring at 15 second intervals. Remove and allow to cool slightly. (If substituting cocoa powder you can skip this step). In a large mixing bowl, combine the chocolate with margarine and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time and then add the vanilla. Stir in the flour until just blended. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the sides are just starting to pull away from the pan. The center might be a little soft still. Let cool on a wire rack.

To make the green layer, beat together the softened butter and powdered sugar. Add milk as needed until it is a spreadable consistency. Stir in mint* extract and desired amount of green food coloring (I used 6 drops). Spread over the cooled pan of brownies.

Refrigerate the brownies for 30 minutes before adding the chocolate coating.

To make the chocolate coating, melt the chocolate chips and butter in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth. Add the vanilla and stir. Pour over the refrigerated brownies and spread quickly. Put back in the fridge for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

I store my leftover brownies in the fridge and eat them cold. Enjoy!

*Make sure the mint extract you use is a flavor you like. I used McCormick's Pure Mint Extract which is a mix of spearmint and peppermint. If you don't like spearmint, make sure you use an exclusively peppermint extract.