mint frosted brownies — epic fail.

Not every attempt is a successful one.

Ever try to cook something and it comes out nothing like you were hoping?! Ya, well, this is exactly what happened the other day. It’s mostly due to the fact that I had ‘ants in my pants’ and tried to cheat the system to get this finished faster, it doesn’t work!

I picked my brain a little trying to decide whether not I wanted to share this disaster with you but hey, at least it’s a chocolate disaster. So here it is, my sad attempt at mint frosted brownies.

My biggest downfall occurred when I put on the last layer, the chocolate topping. I should have let it cool and settle at room temperature and instead, I put it in the refrigerator and when I went to cut it, it was hard as a rock. This caused the entire layer to crack and create a huge mess to the whole masterpiece, or so I thought.

BROWNIES (make from scratch or buy pre-mixed box)

• 1/2 cup butter
• 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 t. vanilla extract
• 1 cup gluten-free flour
• 1/2 t. salt

MINT FROSTING

• 1/4 cup softened butter
• 2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1 1/2 to 3 T. milk
• 1/2 t. peppermint extract
• Green food coloring

CHOCOLATE TOPPING

• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Heat the oven to 350º and grease a 9-inch square baking pan.

Brownies: place the butter and chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute, stir, and microwave for 1 minute more. Stir until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs. Stir in the chocolate and the vanilla extract. Finally, stir in the flour and salt until thoroughly combined. Pour into the prepared pan, then bake for 25 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool for at least 1 hour.

Frosting: cream the butter and confectioners’ sugar. Add the milk 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until it is smooth and spreadable. Beat in the peppermint extract and tint to the desired shade with green food coloring. Frost the cooled brownies, cover, and chill for 1 hour.

Chocolate topping: pour the chips into a microwave-safe bowl, add the butter, and microwave on high for 1 1/2 minutes or until the chocolate melts. Stir until smooth. Pour the chocolate over the brownies and smooth it with a knife. Refrigerate for 45 minutes or until the coating hardens.

Bring the brownies to room temperature, then cut into 16 to 32 pieces. Layer them on a piece of cellophane (place waxed paper between the layers to prevent sticking), wrap up the brownie package, and tie with a red ribbon. Makes 16 to 32 brownies.

Don’t judge food on it’s looks, somehow these will still get eaten…