Tag Archives: Brownies

If it Looks Like a Brownie and Tastes Like a Brownie, is it a Brownie?

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This post is a lesson in “Don’t believe everything you read on the internet”.

Last week one of the articles that came up on my news feed boasted making brownies with just two ingredients. If you have been reading my blog for long you probably know that I do a lot of home cooking and baking, and we love desserts, so I read the article/ recipe that called for just chocolate chips and eggs. I had both ingredients on hand and decided to give it a try.

I followed the instructions to melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler and to beat the eggs (I used an electric mixer to make sure they were completely beaten.) I let the chocolate chips cool a bit so they were not hot enough to cook the eggs when added. I added the chocolate slowly while using the mixer to combine them. When it was completely mixed and looked like brownie batter, I put the mixture in a baking pan that I had sprayed with cooking spray.

I baked it at 350 F for about 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted came out clean. It was cooling on the counter when my husband came in and said, “brownies, yumm.” I explained it was a new recipe and he said he was sure it would be good. “You always make good desserts,” he said.

After lunch we decided to try the brownies. When I cut them and took one out of the pan it looked dense and moist like a good brownie should. My husband’s first impression was good, and I agree they had good flavor, chocolaty and sweet like a brownie, but after a second bite he noticed they were dry. He was right the, even the good chocolaty flavor could not make up for the dry crumbly texture. They looked like brownies and tasted like brownies, but they lacked the dense, moist and even a bit gooey texture of a good brownie. I honestly would not even call these brownies.

So, if you happen to come across this recipe for two ingredient brownies my advice would be save your eggs for breakfast and eat a handful of chocolate chips for dessert. Don’t bother trying this recipe which is sure to disappoint any brownie lover.

Of course, you could choose not to believe this since you did read it on the internet. 🙂

Mint Brownies

cooking, Mint, Mint Brownies, Recipe, , ,

When I make brownies I usually use a box mix, whatever brand is cheapest,  sometimes it’s fudge brownie mix and sometimes it’s dark chocolate, but rather than just plain old brownies, I try to turn them into something special. In the past I’ve done this  by adding nuts, raisins or marsh mallows, or adding a peanut butter/ powdered sugar combination, or sometimes melting chocolate chips on top. Last week I decided to try something new.

I decided to make mint brownies. Instead of running to the internet for a recipe, like I would normally do when I want to try a new recipe, I went to my stash of dried herbs. Among the herbs that we grew and dried this year were both spearmint and chocolate mint. For brownies I decided to use chocolate mint. Using my fingers I crushed up some of the mint leaves until they were like powder. I then added about a teaspoon of the crushed mint to the dark chocolate brownie batter. Other than that I follow the directions on the box.

While the brownies were baking, my husband came in the kitchen and spotted the empty brownie box. “Yum” he said.

“But I added a surprise,” I said teasingly.

“I guess I’ll have to wait,” he pretended to sulk.

Then the detective in him took over and within a couple minutes I saw him sniffing around, “What’s that I smell?” he asked.

“What does it smell like?” I asked, testing his investigative skills.

“Mint,” he said with a bit of question in he voice.

I had hoped to gage his reaction when he tasted the brownies, but I felt forced to reveal the secret, “I made mint brownies.”

We waited until after dinner to try the brownies. The flavor was all that I hoped for. My husband compared them to Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies, and the flavor reminded me very much of Andes mints, those irresistible little chocolate mints wrapped in the green foil paper.

So if you are wondering how to use some of the mint that is threatening to take over your garden this is a simple recipe that will give you a great appreciation for your mint. If you are not yet growing your own mint then you may find it tempting when you hear that mint is fairly easy to grow. It requires at least a partially sunny area and moist but not overly wet soil. I have read that it can be grown as an indoor plant, it can be grown as a potted patio plant or grown in any garden. Some people may be reluctant to plant mint as it is know to be invasive. One option that is recommended is to put the mint plant in a deep pot and then plant the pot and all to restrict mint to certain area. My recommendation, if you want to restrict mint growth, is to harvest the outer edges of the plant by the roots, or dig up a portion or several portions of the mint plant and give it to a friend or several friends. You could also present them with this simple recipe.

1 box brownie mix

1 teaspoon dried mint leaved (crushed into powder)

Mix brownies as instructed on package then mix in mint leaves. Bake as instructed on brownie package.

🙂 Enjoy!!!