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.

INGREDIENTS

BATTER
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
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
(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 would LOVE this brownie recipe.

It's the most wonderful time of the year! (You know you want to say it..... "Ding, dong, ding, dong!")

I adore this lil’ charmer . . . It’s just s’dang Christmassy! Even in a small bite-sized piece, it’ll still pack a sweet little punch for your celebrations with family and friends.

Gather 'round the kitchen counter, and I'll tell you a Christmas tale about a brownie that was on the "nice" list.

INGREDIENTS
1 box brownie mix
Oil, eggs, and water as called for on the box

12-14 candy canes (about 6-7 oz.), crushed

1 c semisweet chocolate chips
1-1/2 tsp canola or vegetable oil
1/4 tsp peppermint extract

1-1/2 c white chocolate chips
2 tsp canola or vegetable oil
1/4 tsp peppermint extract

DIRECTIONS
Mix the box mix as directed on the box. I like to use the “additional egg” recipe, available on most boxes. Bake as directed and allow them to cool completely.

While brownies are cooling, use a plastic zippered bag and a rolling pin to crush the candy canes. I saved a lot of wear-n-tear on my bag by beating it against the counter a few times before using the rolling pin.

Dealing with some holiday stress? Then THIS is your recipe!

Wield your rolling pin with confidence, power, and giddy cathartic joy. Those candies don’t stand a chance. If you have some pent-up holiday stress and are overly enthusiastic in your crushing, your poor plastic bag may get a few holes; in this event, just use a second bag. And consider therapy.

Use a sieve to sift the bigger pieces from the poufy, peppermint-y powder. But don’t throw away the powder, as it plays a very important role in our Christmas pageantry.

Shake it, sh-shake it, shake it, sh-shake it. Shake it like a Polaroid picture.

As you’re crushing, this rule of thumb will help you decide when to keep crushing and when to stop: Try to generate about 1/3 cup of powder and 2/3 cup of small pieces (small = somewhere between the size of a splinter and your pinkie nail.) Later in the recipe, the powder goes INTO the chocolate and the pieces will become your decorative topping.

Pro: Your kitchen will smell so good at this stage. Con: Your hands will be very sticky at this stage.

Before starting these next steps, wait until your brownies are completely cooled.

Put the semisweet chocolate into a microwave-safe container and add 1 and 1/2 tsp oil.

Don't omit the oil. It helps your chocolate stay pliable enough to cut, and keeps it from crumbling into pieces when your guests eat it.

Microwave the chocolate pieces on 50% power for about 1 minute. Stir.

Microwave on half-power -- and a little bit at a time, stirring in between -- to keep from scorching your chocolate.

Microwave on 50% for another 30 seconds. Stir.

If, after 90 seconds, your chocolate is not completely smooth, pop it in for another 20-30 seconds at half-power.

Repeat until there are no more lumps. Add 1/4 tsp of peppermint extract and mix. (Keep in mind, there is a BIG difference between peppermint extract and peppermint oil. The oil is MUCH stronger.)

Ooooh. Minty!

Working quickly, add PART of the peppermint powder, about one-third to one-half of it. Save the unused powder for later.

Don't pour ALL of your powder into the semisweet chocolate. Save some powder for your pretty top layer of white chocolate.

Mix the powder into the chocolate. Keep moving quickly, as you want to keep your chocolate warm, pourable, and spreadable for the next couple of minutes.

It's smooth and crunchy at the same time. Mmm, mmm.

Pour the semisweet chocolate onto the crust of your brownies.

Work quickly, while your chocolate is still warm and spreadable.

Spread the semisweet chocolate onto the crust of your brownies. Be careful not to scrape the surface of the brownies.

Move quickly but gently as you evenly spread your chocolate-and-powder mixture.

Put entire pan into the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes until the chocolate layer has completely lost its shine. It should look dull/dry. If it’s still wet, you’ll have trouble spreading your second layer of white chocolate because you may ”pull up” the dark chocolate into the white layer. Be patient, and it will be a prettier result.

Now, do exactly the same with your white chocolate as you did with your semisweet chocolate (2 tsp oil, melt-mix-melt-mix, peppermint extract, peppermint powder). As reminders, see the pretty pictures below:

Make sure layer 1 is completely dry before spreading layer 2.

Be mindful of 2 things as you spread the white chocolate: 1) if you’re too rough, you risk “pulling up” the first layer, putting blotchy dark patches into your white layer; 2) if you’re too slow, your white layer will begin to dry and your decorative candy pieces won’t stick to the top. So, be quick and gentle.

For the last fun part, sprinkle the decorative candy pieces onto the top layer. Then use a spatula to press them into the warm, soft white chocolate layer.

Most people don't know there is a 9th reindeer named Sprinkle, who is best friends with Blitzen and Dasher.

IMPORTANT: Use a spatula to make sure your sprinkled decorative candies will stay put as your guests get incisor-deep into this treat. We don't want sticky candies falling onto your guests' festively dressed laps.

But wait! Here is perhaps the most important tip of all.

Are you listening?

This is important. I learned it the hard way.

Cut your brownies NOW. Don’t wait until tonight or tomorrow. Once those 2 top layers of chocolate are completely dried and set, it can get quite crumbly up there. This is your one chance to get pretty, straight cuts that don’t fall to pieces. So, after you get your spatula work done and all those candies are set into the white chocolate, grab a nice SHARP knife and get cutting. Cut now; serve tonight or tomorrow or later this week. You’ll be glad you did.

Such a pretty little darling, isn't she?

I hope you enjoy this brownie. Coworkers at my day job sure liked them! (A big “love ya” goes out to my Peppermint Bark Brownie beta-testers: Deanna, Ron, Bryan, Dylan, Jeremy, Alan, Trish, John, Tim, Grace, Desiree, Shane, Jason, Carrie, and Jen.)

Xs and Os for you and your loved ones at Christmas time! Have fun as you SHARE THE BROWNIE LOVE this year.

These are like regular brownies, except they’re wearing green velvet shorts and dancing a jig.

Since this recipe is mint plus mint, the result is exquisitely mintabulous.

INGREDIENTS

1 boxed brownie mix (plus eggs, oil, water as box directs)

1 ounce Creme de Menthe Liqueur (or the non-alcohol version, found in the ice cream aisle)

3-4 T. Marshmallow Fluff

Peppermint/chocolate candy bars (like York Peppermint Patties), either 4-5 full-sized or 20 minis (about 1.5 cups)

DIRECTIONS
Cut the peppermint chocolates into small pieces. Herd the candy into a shallow dish, like a pie pan or a dinner plate.

These are York Peppermint Patties, ready for their colorful bathing session.

Pour 1 ounce of creme de menthe into the dish and for the next hour or two, let the pretty white mint candy soak up the alcohol and its stunning green color.

Make and bake the box mix as directed on the box. Immediately after pulling brownies from the oven, use a teaspoon to push small amounts of marshmallow fluff down into the crust. Just 1/2 teaspoon here and there — enough so that, when they’re cut, each brownie will get a taste of it. You’re creating the canvas on which your creme de menthe candies will shine.

Now, push those gorgeous mint candy pieces into the brownie crust, leaving the candy’s green edges exposed and flirting with passersby.

Oooh, pretty. Don't you just adore mint? It's so infinitely eatable! NOM!

Let cool and then cut and serve. This is such a pretty brownie. And simple, too!