It’s not Christmas if there’s no peppermint and this might be my favorite peppermint treat yet. There is barely any flour in this recipe which is what makes them so fudgy and glorious.  They taste even better after sitting in the fridge… the texture is awesome and the cool peppermint and the cold brownie are fantastic.

The fact that they are great out of the fridge means they are fantastic around the holidays because you can make them in advance and have them at the ready whenever someone pops in or carolers stop by which never happens because I live in a condo building but you can’t be too prepared when it comes to baked goods.

A few notes- it’s best if you chop your own chocolate for the recipes… some chocolate chips and chocolate chunks have stabilizers that make them not melt well although I find the Trader Joe’s chocolate chunks melt well.  The eggs really need to be at room temperature otherwise they will scramble… just let them sit in a bowl of warm water if they need to get to room temp quickly.

You can’t skip the peppermint extract… that ingredient’s the whole point.  I recommend crushing the candy canes in a Ziploc bag with a rolling pin because… well the holidays can be stressful.

You’ll need:

For Brownies

• 0.5 cup all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder
• 0.5 baking powder
• 0.5 teaspoon salt
• 10 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
• 1.5 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 0.5 teaspoon peppermint extract

For Topping

• 12 ounces white chocolate, chopped
• 3 tablespoons vegetable shortening
• 6 candy canes, chopped or crushed (about 0.75 cup)

To Make:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line the bottom and sides of casserole dish or rectangular pan (mine was 9X12”) with parchment paper, leaving overhang on two edges.
2. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt in small bowl.
3. Melt chocolate and butter in medium-large bowl set over gently simmering water, stirring often until smooth.  Remove from heat, whisk in sugar and stir until mostly dissolved and mixture has cooled somewhat.
4. Whisk eggs, vanilla and peppermint into chocolate mixture.  Fold in flour mixture until just combined.  Pour batter into prepared pan.
5. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean.  Let cool completely.
6. While brownies cool, melt white chocolate and shortening together in a bowl set over barely simmering water.  You have to melt this low and slow, stirring constantly and removing from heat before completely melted (the residual heat will finish the job).  Pour white chocolate mixture over brownies and spread out evenly.  Sprinkle with crushed candy canes and chill for 30 minutes or ideally overnight.
7. Remove brownies from pan using parchment.  Cut and store in air tight container in refrigerator for up to 5 days.

 Inspired by LoveandOliveOil