andes creme de menthe baking chips

Andes Mint Chip Brownies

January 8, 2014

I’m kinda hooked on brownies.

I have been baking them up like crazy lately and have plans on several more different kinds of batches to bake up in the next few weeks. I kinda can’t wait!

Anyway, I whipped up these Andes Mint Chip Brownies up right after Christmas so that I could start to feel a bit more normal after having my typical life (showering, cooking, baking, eating, thinking) had been flip flopped after having Autumn. They are so quick and easy to whip up that even I can do them with new mommy brain!

The base for these brownies might just be my favorite. It might be the butter. Or the chocolates. Or maybe it’s the butter AND the chocolates. Maybe it’s the combo of it all. Probably that all together they create a soft, yet sturdy, brownie. I’ve made plenty of really soft brownies that just about need a spoon to eat them (de-lightful!) but these are bake sale brownies. What I mean by that is that you can cut them easier from the pan and could easily package them up to sell at the bake sale. Or toss into a lunch. Or delicately place on the rim of a glass of milk awaiting its sweet demise.

Adding the Andes Creme de Menthe Chips add such a great kick to the brownies. I just love this flavor. It just screams winter to me.

Since we’re still locked into this deep freeze from the “Polar Vortex” I think it would be a great idea to whip up a batch of these brownies to help you get through these cold days and nights. Days like this just call for a brownie and some hot chocolate.

Andes Mint Chip Brownies

Makes 24 brownies

Ingredients

12 ounces of semisweet chocolate chips, divided
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 ounces Andes Creme de Menthe Baking Chips

Process

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9×13 baking pan by buttering/spraying with non-stick cooking spray the bottom and sides and lining the bottom with parchment paper or tin foil.
In a large microwavable safe bowl, melt 8 ounces of the chocolate chips and the butter together, stirring every 30 seconds until completely melted and combined.
Add the cocoa powder and sugar, mixing completely.
Add in the beaten eggs and vanilla extract.
Stir in the flour, salt, remaining chocolate chips, and the Creme de Menthe chips to gently incorporate.
Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center is clean upon removal. Do not over bake. Let cool prior to cutting into 24 pieces.

Thin Mint Gooey Cake Bars

January 25, 2013

When I was younger I was a Brownie. I used to do activities and earn badges for a few years. I remember little ceremonies at our local library. But when I remember the most were the cookies. Oh, those Girl Scout cookies were so awesome.

I used to sell the cookies at my dad’s office and things would get pretty insane. My chart would fill up and then some. And then of course the cookies would be delivered to our house and things would be even crazier. Boxes and boxes filled with boxes of girl scout cookies would fill our living room. My parents would have to sort the cookies quickly that night since my mom ran a day care in our house and we could not have a bunch of toddlers attack boxes of cookies. Their sugar high would just be out of control! ha!

Now my best friend’s daughter is a Brownie so when the opportunity to help our the Girl Scout’s organization fund-raise I could not pass that up. Nor could I pass up the chance for cookies that only come around 1 time a year. I love Thin Mints and Caramel deLites so I definitely had to order those. But I did order the new Mango Cremes to give them a try.

The Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts sent me a box of Thin Mint Cookies and a recipe for Thin Mint Gooey Cake Bars so I could see how versatile the cookies are, besides just being so yummy. Oh, my gosh! I thought I was going to have to lock up the box of cookies so Price couldn’t eat them before I made the Thin Mint Gooey Cake Bars.

These were so easy to make and before I knew it our house was filled with the sweet smells of chocolate and mint. Just be sure to well grease the pan to make it easy to remove the bars once they are cooled. And the worst part is that you really do have to wait until they are cooled before cutting into them or they will fall apart. Oh it was so hard to wait!! But it was worth the wait since these were so good. The cake layer is a great base and then it gets intense with all that chocolate and mint piled high. It’s a bar you are going to want to sink your teeth in as they are soft, chewy and yet crunchy at the same time.

Girl Scout Cookies are available for sale until March 12th. Find a Girl Scout you know to purchase directly from her or you can find a booth where they are being sold in your area. There even is an app you can download to find cookie sale locations!

Thin Mint Gooey Cake Bars

Makes 24 or 32 bars, depending on size you cut

Ingredients

1 box of yellow cake mix
1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup Andes mint chips or candies chopped into small pieces
1 can sweetened condensed milk
20 Girl Scout thin Mint Cookies, broken into pieces.

Process

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9×13 baking dish by coating with non-stick cooking spray.
Mix together the cake mix, butter, and egg in a large bowl.
Press the dough mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
Spread the chocolate chips and Andes mint chips evenly over the dough. Then pour the condensed milk over the chips and then sprinkle the pieces of the Thin Mint Cookies over it all.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, until baked through. Let cool completely before cutting into squares.

I received a box of Thin Mint Cookies from the Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts to write this post. The options are my own.

Double Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies

December 4, 2012

So I’m going to let you in on a little secret… Mint and Chocolate ROCK together. Oh, so you don’t like that combo? GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!! Alright, I won’t throw you to the curb but really? Ew. Besides mint in iced tea I think that mint and chocolate is the best.

Double Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies_03

Once I saw this bag of Andes Creme de Menthe Baking Chips I knew I had to dive right in and get right to baking. I toyed around with a bunch of ideas but I wanted to stick to chocolate, chocolate, chocolate!! So I found this amazing double chocolate chip cookie recipe and got started on making some holiday cheer cookies.

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Double Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies_08

Double Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies_09

Grab some milk and some cookies since these are a winter time winter. They are soft, fudgy, and minty. The texture is slightly chewy from the dense chocolate dough and the tons of chocolate and mint chips. Oh, those mint chips. I want to add them in everything… stay tuned…

Double Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies

Makes 24 cookies

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar (I split it between white sugar and brown sugar)
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 oz (2 cups)semisweet chocolate chips
10 oz Andes Creme De Menthe baking chips

Process

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
In large bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract until light and fluffy. Add the flour mixture into the butter mixture until well blended. Stir in the chocolate chips and mint chips. Drop rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or just until set. Cool slightly on the cookie sheets before transferring onto racks to cool completely.