Candy Cane Brownies!!

taken from Fat Witch Brownies by Patricia Helding

14 tbsp (1 ¾ sticks) unsalted butter, about 200g
½ cup bittersweet chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips

3 large eggs or medium if your in the UK

1 cup granulated sugar

½ tsp peppermint extract

½ tsp vanilla extract

½ cup unbleached flour or plain flour

pinch of salt

½  cup white chocolate chips

Grease your baking pan; I’m using a 9x9inch silicone one, with butter. Dust with flour and tap out excess. Preheat your oven to 350*F

Melt the butter and chocolate chips together. There are a couple of different ways. Microwave safe bowl 30secs to 1 minute stirring in-between and over a pan of water either way just watch it! Set aside to cool.

Beat the eggs, sugar, peppermint and vanilla extract together until smooth. Add the cooled chocolate mixture and mix until well blended.

Sift the flour and salt into the batter. Mix gently until well combined and no trace of dry ingredients are left. Fold in the white chocolate chips.

Pour into you prepared pan and bake for 27 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean or with crumbs but no batter!!

Let cool for 30-60 minutes.

straight out of the oven

for the icing:

¾ cup white chocolate chips

½ cup confectioners’ sugar or icing sugar

1-2 candy canes crushed- depends on size but about enough to fill 1/3-1/4 cup

Melt the white chocolate chips, using your preferred method, and sift in confectioners’ sugar, whisking until smooth.

Poor over cooled brownies and sprinkle on candy canes. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until set. Cut just before serving!

what I ended up doing: for the icing I tried melting my white chocolate, but once again my icing has gone wrong. I might have to resort to Betty Crocker's Icing, although have you seen the ingredients list? It's got all sorts of random things in it! I had my glass bowl sitting on a simmering pot of water and as I was stirring it started seizing up. It just went hard and wouldn't turn into a nice smooth melted chocolate. So, I added the icing sugar/confectioners' sugar in hopes that it would help. It didn't. So, I melted a handful of chocolate chips and spread over the brownies then sprinkled the bread like crumbs, of white chocolate and icing sugar over the chocolate spread. Finishing it off by sprinkling the crushed candy canes! Might be a little more messy, but still tastes good. On a last note I used UK large eggs in this and it didn't seem to make much of a difference.

picture of the book, showing the smooth white chocolate frosting

These are good, not as good as the Chocolate Orange Brownies, but good in it's own way! The mint flavor is good. Again I think I should have just melted some mint chocolate and make the other recipe! ;0) They are very cool! Pun intended! I think I'll be done with brownies for a while! I have a few other things I'll be making this week!! Then I have a very excessive Christmas dessert list!!