I have to tell you something about me. It's pretty serious...ok maybe not sooo serious, but oh well I'm telling you anyway. One of my favorite combinations in the world is mint and chocolate. My favorite ice cream is mint chocolate chip, and don't even get me started on those Andes mints or thin mint Girl Scout cookies, I could eat my weight in those things. With that being said St. Patrick's day is right around the corner and naturally I have to make something green. My Grandma's Mint Chocolate Brownie Bites are to die for in my book and rank right up there with those other yummy sweet treats I just mentioned! So I made them.

And...let me just go ahead and say that these do not fall into the healthy category (at all), but they ARE cut into bite size pieces. Moderation people...

They are layered with a moist brownie bottom, a minty buttercream center, and finished off with a luscious chocolately glaze. Oh yeah, nothing wrong with any of that if you ask me. What's even better (I know how could they get better) is that you keep them in the fridge so they stay fresh for up to two weeks (I mean honestly they probably won't last that long) or you can freeze them!

Where I live, we have a St. Patty's Day parade on Saturday so I made these brownies for my "green" dessert, and let's be honest it really just gave me an excuse to make them without feeling bad since others would be helping me eat them. :)

Now it's your turn. Make my Grandma's Mint Chocolate Brownie Bites so we can talk about how good they are and I don't have to obsess alone!

Ingredients:

Bottom Layer-

I Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Butter (melted)
1 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 Tsp. Salt
4 Eggs
1 Can Hershey Chocolate (it's the syrup and it's on the baking aisle with chocolate chips)

Middle Layer-

2 Cups Powdered Sugar
1/2 Cup Butter (softened at room temp)
4 Tbsp. Mint Extract (not peppermint)
Green Food Coloring

Top Layer-

6 Oz. of Chocolate Chips (I used a mix between dark and semi-sweet)
6 Tbsp. of Butter

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

-In a large mixing bowl combine your sugar, butter, flour, vanilla, salt, eggs, and can of Hershey chocolate and mix well by hand with a whisk.

-Pour into greased 9 by 13 baking dish and bake for 30 minutes.

-After the 30 minutes, let the brownie cool for 30 minutes.

-After the bottom layer has cooled, in another large bowl you will want to cream your butter with a mixer and then add in your powdered sugar and your mint extract (a tbsp. at a time) until the icing forms and is smooth. Add in two drops of food coloring until your icing is the color that you want it (usually a light green).

-Spread the icing on the top of the brownie in one single and even layer and place the dish into the fridge to cool while you make the glaze.

-In a double boiler (use a small saucepan with about an inch of water in it and place a glass bowl on top that fits to where the bottom does not touch the water and bring water to boil). Slowly melt the chocolate and butter in the glass bowl stirring constantly until the mixture is fully melted and smooth.

-Remove the brownies from the fridge and take the chocolate off the heat. Let cool for about 1 minute. Pour the glaze over the icing layer and smooth evenly across until the whole top is covered.

-Refrigerate for about 30 minutes until the chocolate sets and cut into 1 inch pieces (I know they seem small, but they are rich). Do not let cool too long or when you cut the brownies your chocolate will crack. Serve when you are ready!