Mint Brownies

For teacher gifts this year, I made mint brownies and Christmas spice pound cake (I'll feature the pound cake on Friday for Cake Fridays).  I jazzed up a basic brownie recipe with chopped Dove dark chocolate peppermint bark chocolates.  Here is the recipe I used.

I made some modifications though.  Instead of 4 oz semi sweet chocolate, I added 2.5 oz chopped Dove dark chocolate peppermint bark chocolates and 1.5 oz semi sweet chocolate chips.  I also omitted the Nutella.  I baked my brownies for 30 minutes in a greased 9x9 pan and cut the cooled bars into 4 big squares.  I used store bought chocolate frosting to adhere a dark chocolate peppermint bark chocolate to the center of each square.  This made for a festive, celebratory garnish fit for any Christmas dessert.  And you can never have too much chocolate :)

Here is the top of one of the brownie squares:

And here is the breakdown of what goes on in your mind as you eat this sinful delicacy:

The cracked, thin-as-glass top layer of the brownie + the rich candy dotted with peppermint crystals + the smooth chocolate frosting hiding beneath it + the dense, fudgy interior + the crispy, thick outer edges of the brownie = complete bliss.  Love this recipe!