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I am a Honey Bee

All about my adventures with cooking, crafts, and travel

holiday

Andes Mint Chip Brownies

Andes Mint Chip Brownies

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!

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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!

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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.

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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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Add the cocoa powder and sugar, mixing completely.
  4. Add in the beaten eggs and vanilla extract.
  5. Stir in the flour, salt, remaining chocolate chips, and the Creme de Menthe chips to gently incorporate.
  6. 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.
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7.1-4: How Martha Were You?

How Martha Were You?

I spent the long weekend with Price’s family back home in upstate NY. It was leisurely, warm, and involved naps. My perfect kind of weekend!

Friday Night-

Price and I met afterwork at Haymarket to get fruit and veggies for the week

We stopped by our new favorite sushi place for some take out, saw a (double?) rainbow on the walk home

got sucked into How I Met Your Mother episodes we had on our DVR

I cleaned the kitchen, always a work in progress!

We packed for the weekend.

I started blueberry lemonade- made the fresh blueberry juice ice cubes

Saturday-

Up at 5am, showered

Finished making the lemonade for the car ride.

In the car at 6.01 (only 1minute past our goal!), drove to natick, realized we left a gift at home, turned around and started our journey again 30 minutes later, douh!

Price took me to Wegmans, some 20+ miles out of the way, so I could get some gluten free stuff for the weekend. Stopped off at a liquor store.

Arrived at our destination a bit after noon!!!

Unpacked the car, had some beer/left-over lemonade spiked with vodka, roamed the yard.

I went to Doug’s Fish Fry to get us lunch

I took a 5 minute nap (no joke) before we headed out to meet everyone to go out on C+H’s new boat.

Back home, took a 2 hour nap

Met everyone again to go out on the boat again to listen to the summer concert, had some Skinny Girl Margarita (kinda too salty)

Drinks at The Sherwood

Crash until bed

Sunday-

Slept in until 10. What?!?

Went to the grocery store then drug store

Made guacamole, Price grilled the corn (3 different ways as a test) and hot dogs. Enjoyed a long (2 hr) lunch with Price’s dad

Went to Price’s friends ‘beach’ (a storm washed it away) to watch

Monday-

Made breakfast sandwiches

C+H came over so we could give the boys presents for each of their birthdays and to say good bye

On the road shortly after 11am to head back home

2 trips to McDonalds on the drive home… nothing more American than that, no? ha

stop at Petco for rabbit bedding

Unload car, shower, unwind, scrapbook, simple mac and cheese for dinner, watch the NY fireworks, edit photos

During Morning Living on Martha Radio, the hosts hold a segment called How Martha Were You? every Monday morning where you recap your weekend’s activities.

Thanks for visiting. Please leave me a comment to provide some feedback. I appreciate all the comments I receive.

Easter Brownies- Mini Cadbury Creme Egg Brownies

These brownies make for a fantastic Easter treat. The brownie is individually sized so it makes for a great to go treat. The kind of goodie that is easily wrapped and slipped into an Easter basket. Or if you are ‘too old’ for a basket, you can just enjoy them because you are an adult and should have nice things.

 

I really truly love Cadbury Creme Eggs. I love that they are around for such a short period of time. It makes them even more desirable. I stick to the classic creme eggs, just can’t get me to touch their caramel egg. I don’t get the point. It’s like a caramel milky way… oh don’t you mean a caramel filled chocolate bar that is no way similar to a milky way?!? I think that classics should stay classics. So that is why I indulge myself with the creme eggs for this short period of time.

 

The brownies are best eaten right away because it will allow you to bite into the ooey gooey creme egg. The brownie is rich and dense, so the egg will not sink to the bottom. The egg remains intact and is perfect to cut in half. It just looks so sweet.

 

Typically, you test the readiness of a baked good by inserting a tooth pick and if it’s clean upon removal the cake it done. However, you can’t insert a tooth pick into the center of this treat because it would provide an inaccurate picture of it’s doneness because you would be testing the melty egg, and not the brownie. The brownies are so small that gently touching the top will be a good enough indicator.

 

Mini Cadbury Creme Egg Brownies

*makes 6 brownies*

Ingredients

  • 4oz bittersweet chocolate
  • 6oz butter
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup self-rising flour
  • 6 mini Cadbury creme eggs

Process

  1. Preheat oven to 350. Line 6 muffin cups.
  2. Melt the chocolate and butter together in a double boiler, or over very low heat. Cool.
  3. In a medium size bowl, combine the sugar and egg
  4. Slowly add the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture.
  5. Add in the flour and gently combine.
  6. Divide the batter evenly into the 6 liners. Put 1 egg inside each brownie, slightly less than half should remain exposed.
  7. Bake for 13-15 minutes. Top should appear done while egg is soft looking.

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Thanks for visiting. Please leave me a comment to provide some feedback. I appreciate all the comments I receive.