These green, mint-abulous St. Patrick’s Day brownies will wink and say, “Top o’ the mornin’ to ye.”

Serve them for a Saint Patrick’s Day party or anytime. They’re as rich, cool, and refreshing as the ice cream that donated its namesake. And they have a frosty crunch! You’ll want two scoops, for sure.

BATTER INGREDIENTS

• 1 box brownie mix
• (For this recipe, I used Duncan Hines Chewy Fudge Family Size)
• Eggs, oil, and water as called for on the box

TOPPING INGREDIENTS

• 1 tub vanilla frosting (For this recipe, I used Duncan Hines Creamy Home-Style)
• 2 tsp mint extract, more or less to taste
• Green food coloring, about 4-5 droplets
• 6 oz green swirl mint candy (like Brach’s Spearmint Discs)
• 6 oz (about 1/2 bag) miniature chocolate chips (get the mini size; you’ll be glad you did! For this recipe, I used Nestle Semi-Sweet Mini Chips)

DIRECTIONS
Mix batter ingredients and bake according to box instructions. Allow to cool.

In the meantime, add mint extract to frosting and mix completely. Then add a few droplets of green food coloring and mix completely. You’ll need only 4 or 5 drops to get a good “minty” color. Set aside.

Unwrap mint candies and place in a zippered bag. Beat those pretty green candies senseless with something heavy — say, a rolling pin or a bowling ball, whichever is handy in your kitchen.

This will take a LOT of crushing because you want a lot of fine powder. If you start breaking through the zippered bag, use a second bag. And take pride in your enthusiasm.

Use a sieve to sift the mint powder from the small pieces.

Your goal is to have about 3/4 cup of fine minty powder and 1/4 cup of tiny fragments, no bigger than your pinky nail. Set aside the candy fragments to use as a garnish. Mix the powder into the frosting.

Add 3/4 cup of mini chips into the frosting and stir the frosting.

Spread frosting onto cooled brownies.

Top the frosting with a handful of mini chips.

Add as many of the candy fragments as you like, to create a crispy, crunchy, and appealing garnish for your Saint Patrick’s Day creation.

Saint Patrick himself would surely LOVE this darling, green, minty, showy brownie.