There are certain visual cues that are so ingrained I take them for granted. For instance, a brownie with a white or green layer underneath a chocolate topping automatically signals to me that it has mint. This archetype is so well-settled in my mind that I flipped by the "State Street Brownies" recipe in Shauna Sever's Midwest Made a few times before I realized that they were mint brownies. The brownies have peppermint extract in the batter, and they're topped with whipped mint-milk chocolate ganache and a chocolate glaze. But there's no white or green layer to be found. I was curious how the State Street brownies compare to the mint brownie recipe from Bon Appétit that I've been making for years.
The recipe instructs you to make the ganache first, which is just a mixture of hot cream, salt, milk chocolate, and peppermint extract. I let it cool to room temperature and then put it in the fridge; it set up rather quickly and I pulled it out after less than an hour, because I didn't want it to set completely solid.
You make the brownie batter by hand, by melting bittersweet chocolate with butter; adding in a mixture of eggs, sugar, vanilla, peppermint extract, and salt; and folding in flour. I poured the mixture into a parchment-lined 8-inch square pan, baked the brownies, and let them cool completely.
The brownies baked up with a nice, level top. I used a hand-held mixer to beat the ganache, which increased significantly in volume and became nice and fluffy. I was surprised how much ganache there was when I spread it on the brownies, because in the cookbook photo the ganache layer is very thin. As you can see in the photo above, my ganache layer was tall and the ratio of brownie to ganache was roughly 3:2. I put the ganache-topped brownies in the freezer briefly before pouring on a glaze made from butter, bittersweet chocolate, and a little vegetable oil. I chilled the bars to set the glaze before cutting the brownies.
The brownie portion was extremely fudgy. Shauna recommends cutting the 8-inch square pan into 25 brownies, which seems like the right serving size considering how dense and decadent the brownie is. I really liked the whipped ganache, which wasn't overly sweet. But I have to say that I wished the brownie was more minty. There is actually a fair amount of peppermint extract in them (a teaspoon in the brownie itself and another teaspoon in the ganache), so I don't understand why I found myself wishing for more mint. The Bon Appétit recipe has significantly less peppermint extract and yet I seem to remember those brownies being more minty... but then again it's been a while since I made that recipe.
Because the brownie is so rich, I thought these were close to the line of being a confection, like Abby Dodge's Kahlúa Fudge Squares. I personally would have preferred a slightly less fudgy texture. But I can't deny that these were a decadent treat!
Recipe: "State Street Brownies" from Midwest Made by Shauna Sever.
Previous Posts:
The recipe instructs you to make the ganache first, which is just a mixture of hot cream, salt, milk chocolate, and peppermint extract. I let it cool to room temperature and then put it in the fridge; it set up rather quickly and I pulled it out after less than an hour, because I didn't want it to set completely solid.
You make the brownie batter by hand, by melting bittersweet chocolate with butter; adding in a mixture of eggs, sugar, vanilla, peppermint extract, and salt; and folding in flour. I poured the mixture into a parchment-lined 8-inch square pan, baked the brownies, and let them cool completely.
The brownie portion was extremely fudgy. Shauna recommends cutting the 8-inch square pan into 25 brownies, which seems like the right serving size considering how dense and decadent the brownie is. I really liked the whipped ganache, which wasn't overly sweet. But I have to say that I wished the brownie was more minty. There is actually a fair amount of peppermint extract in them (a teaspoon in the brownie itself and another teaspoon in the ganache), so I don't understand why I found myself wishing for more mint. The Bon Appétit recipe has significantly less peppermint extract and yet I seem to remember those brownies being more minty... but then again it's been a while since I made that recipe.
Because the brownie is so rich, I thought these were close to the line of being a confection, like Abby Dodge's Kahlúa Fudge Squares. I personally would have preferred a slightly less fudgy texture. But I can't deny that these were a decadent treat!
Recipe: "State Street Brownies" from Midwest Made by Shauna Sever.
Previous Posts:
- "Festively Fudgy and Minty Fresh: Grasshopper Squares," April 7, 2016.
- "The Brownie Tasteoff Finals: A Brownie Champion Is Crowned," September 27, 2011.
- "Baked Sunday Mornings: Grasshopper Bars," August 14, 2011.
- "A Dish Best Served Cold: Chocolate Mint Thumbprints," March 24, 2011.
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