A thick and chewy brownie is topped with the most luscious chocolate buttercream. Your friends and family will think this came directly from a bakery!
Holy cow, people. This brownie recipe is EVERYTHING. Yes, I already have a favorite brownie recipe, but this one ranks right up there too.
Addie and I went on our weekly mother-daughter date to the library one evening when I checked out Mark Bittman’s How to Bake Everything cookbook. Everything in this book sounded irresistible, and I couldn’t even pick out the first recipe to try because there were so many.
When I received an invitation for our skating club’s cast party (after the holiday show), I knew that I needed to bake something from the cookbook. I opted for something that wouldn’t take too much time, yet could feed a large crowd. Brownies was my answer.
I baked Mark’s recipe and opted to frost them with a chocolate buttercream, because why not? I adorned the tops with cute holiday colored sprinkles and brought them to the cast party after the show ended. The skaters thought that these were store-bought until I told them that I baked them that day.
These brownies were gone almost instantaneously, and for good reason. The brownies themselves are dense and chewy, with a bit of fudginess to them. The chocolate buttercream, well, was just so amazing on its own that I could have happily eaten that for my dinner. Since there were kids in the show, I kept the frosting as-is, but I imagine they would be pretty wonderful with a little bit of coffee or even alcohol mixed in.
Enjoy!
Peppermint brownies with chocolate buttercream
Ingredients
Brownies
- 1 and 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
- 1 and 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
Chocolate buttercream
- 1 stick unsalted butter softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 ounces dark chocolate melted
- 4-5 Tablespoons milk of choice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Generously grease or line a standard 8"x8" pan with parchment paper.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter completely. Add in the sugar and mix well. Then add the eggs, one at a time, and mix well after each addition. Then fold in the cocoa, flour, salt and peppermint extract until everything comes together and the batter is smooth and glossy.
- Transfer the batter to your prepared baking pan and bake for about 20 minutes or until the middle are barely set (they will set as they cool).
- While the brownies are cooling, make the buttercream. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl if using a handheld mixer, cream the butter on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes. Turn the mixer to low and slowly add in the powdered sugar, about 1/2 cup at a time. Add in the melted chocolate and continue mixing until everything is uniform. Slowly add in the milk, 1 Tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency. Finally, add the vanilla.
- Once the brownies have finished cooling, frost with the chocolate buttercream and top with your favorite sprinkles or other decorations if desired.