Cookie of the Week!- Starbucks Peppermint Brownie

Okay so I just had to try this. It is my all time favorite holiday treat!!! Now, I got the recipe here but I recommend using a 9x13 pan instead. I found that using the smaller pan the brownie's were too large and the bottom started to dry out before the middle was done. Overall though, a big plus!!!!

Brownies

• 1 (19 1/2 ounce) box fudge brownie mix
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

Peppermint Buttercream Frosting

• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate Frosting

• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 (12 ounce) bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 325. Then prepare a 9x9 inch baking dish by spraying lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Cut a piece of parchment paper to the width of the bottom of your pan but long enough to extend over the edge of the right and left sides of the pan.
2. Sift brownie mix to eliminate any clumps. Then add melted butter, water eggs and 1/4 teaspoon of peppermint extract. Mix by hand just until dry ingredients are incorporated.
3. Pour into prepared pan. Bake according to package directions. Let cool.
4. Beat together cup powdered sugar and 1/2 cup softened butter. Mix in another 1/2 cup powdered sugar, then add 1 tablespoon milk and peppermint and vanilla extracts. Spread frosting evenly over the top. Place brownies in fridge to firm up frosting.
5. Bring 1/3 cup milk and 1/4 cup butter almost to a boil over medium heat. Pour chocolate chips into a heat-safe bowl. Pour milk mixture over the top and let sit for 5 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and whisk until smooth. Use an electric mixer to beat in 1 cup powdered sugar until frosting is smooth. This will make more than you need, so remove 1/4-1/3 cup frosting and reserve for another use.
6. Spread chocolate frosting over the white frosting on the brownies.
7. Place back in fridge for about an hour to firm up frosting. Remove brownies from pan and slice into 9 pieces.

Cookie of the Week!- Peppermint Whoopie Pies

This picture does not do them justice! These taste like a little bit of heaven all wrapped up in your mouth. Yum!

Sorry I am a little behind posting this, but it was a busy weekend and the internet was very patchy. So I made the normal whoopie pies when I headed up to visit my friend Maryjane, and boy were those super yummy. But we thought they would taste really yummy with peppermint in the filling, and of course as we all know if you flavor anything peppermint, you must color it pink! I used the America's Test Kitchen recipe and changed the filling just a touch.

Whoopie Pies
cakes:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup dutch-processed cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk

filling:
12 tbsp butter, softened
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
3/4 tsp. peppermint extract
a few drops of red food coloring
1/8 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups marshmallow creme

1. For the cakes: line 2 baking sheets with parchment. whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl.

2. In a large bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla.

3. Slowly mix in half of the flour mixture into the butter/sugar mixture, followed by half of the buttermilk, repeat with half of the remaining flour and the remaining buttermilk. Add the remaining flour mixture until combined.

4. Scoop generous 1/4 cup mounds of batter onto the prepared baking sheets, about 2" apart. Bake the cakes until they spring back when pressed, 15-18 minutes. Let cool completely before removing from baking sheets. (Modification: We didn't do 1/4 cup, we thought this would be HUGE so we used a cookie batter scoop and made them the size of regular cookies)

5. For the filling: Beat the butter and powdered sugar together with a mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and salt. Beat in the marshmallow creme until incorporated.

6. To serve, spread 1/3 cup filling (or less, if using our mods) evenly over the bottom of the cake and then make a sandwich by pressing the bottom of another cake onto the filling. Repeat with the remaining cakes and filling.