Peppermint brownies

It's been a long time since I last updated with a new recipe. Between finals, the holidays, and all the travel that I've been doing, I've still managed to find time to bake, but those were all old recipes I already blogged about. It's about time I try something new.

To kick off 2015, I'm going back to the basics with some of these next posts to find some good base recipes that are simple (like this basic chocolate chip cookie recipe) that can be further modified and made more creative.

Today's simple treat is the brownie. Brownies are my favorite dessert of all time, but oddly enough, I rarely make brownies. It's probably because I run a higher risk of eating it all, whereas I'm satisfied with just one of the cookies or cupcakes I make.

Brownies are very versatile since chocolate goes with so many other different things, making it relatively easy to invent a new and tasty recipe on the spot. It's also great if you have leftover ingredients from another recipe and aren't sure how to use them.

That was the case for me here - I had tons of leftover peppermint chocolate chips from the holiday baking (I threw them into my favorite dark chocolate cookie recipe), so I decided to find a simple brownie recipe and use the peppermint chips in place of the regular chocolate chips.

When I looked for a brownie recipe, I made sure to find one that would result in more fudgy brownies, rather than cake-like ones. They are denser, and in my opinion, more rich and tasty (otherwise, you might as well just make chocolate cupcakes).

I am really happy with how these turned out! Perfectly chewy, bursting with yummy peppermint goodness. Almost enough to trick me into thinking that it's still the holidays...

Peppermint brownies - makes ~18 brownies
(Recipe adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction)

• 1 stick (8 Tbsp) unsalted butter
• 8 oz dark chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli's 60% Cocoa Bittersweet)
• ¾ cup (150 g) white sugar
• ¼ cup (50 g) dark brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla 
• ½ cup + 2 Tbsp (80 g) flour
• 2 Tbsp (11 g) cocoa
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 cup (180 g) peppermint chips (I used Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips)

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line a 7x11 pan with tin foil. 
2. Melt the butter with the dark chocolate chips in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and let cool. 
3. Add sugars (white and brown) to chocolate mixture and stir (by hand) until combined. 
4. Add eggs and vanilla and continue to hand-mix until combined. 
5. Add in (by folding) flour, cocoa, and salt and mix until just combined. Do not overmix. 
6. Fold in peppermint chips. 
7. Pour into lined baking pan. Bake for 35 min, or until an inserted fork comes out clean.
8. Let cool and cut into squares. 
9. Enjoy!