I’ve been wanting to make brownies for a couple of weeks, but every time I get home I’m hungry for real food. Thanks to leftover Greek turkey burgers, I had time and energy to make brownies last night. My future brother-in-law associates brownies with funerals. I associate brownies with, well, chocolate. The chocolatier the better.

I also really like mint, so a couple of years ago, when I was perusing Gourmet magazine and found a recipe for Grashopper Squares, I knew I had to make them. They were really good and I got requests from people in the office for the recipe. So last night when I was trying to decide on a brownie recipe, I went to epicurious.com to find it. I had a fun time making them with Brian’s help telling me the ingredient specifics. Instead of making the fillings and ganache and stuff, I decided just to melt chocolate on top of the brownies and make a minty cream cheese frosting. Who doesn’t like cream cheese frosting?

About 10 minutes after the pan had been taken from the oven, my brother walked in the door and begged me to scoop him some hot brownie goo he could eat before heading home, and when I woke up this morning, one row was already missing from the pan. That’s a good sign.

Gooey Brownies

Adapted from Gourmet, Dec. 2005

1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter
23 oz (two bags) chocolate chips, divided (preferably Ghirardelli 60 % cocoa)
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking pan with foil. Butter foil.
Melt butter and one bag chocolate chips with brown sugar in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth. Remove from heat. Combine eggs and vanilla. Temper egg and vanilla mixture by adding a bit of the chocolate sauce and whisking. Whisk egg mixture into the rest of the chocolate mixture. Whisk in flour, cocoa, and salt until just combined.
Spread batter evenly in baking pan and bake until set and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs adhering, about 20 minutes. Spread the rest of the chocolate chips on top of the brownies and let set a few minutes for chocolate to melt. Once melted, spread it evenly. Cool completely. Top with piped Minty Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe follows).

Minty Cream Cheese Frosting

4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 ounce peppermint schnapps
2 drops peppermint extract

Whisk all ingredients together and pipe over brownies.