Mint Chocolate Brownies: Layers of mint between rich dark chocolate ganache and fudgy brownies. Perfect for St. Patrick’s Day, as a Christmas dessert, or any time of year!
Brownie recipes are the perfect option for hosting parties, holidays or even to enjoy on the weekends for a sweet treat.
Mint chocolate lovers are especially going to LOVE this recipe! Not only does it use a brownie mix (that we spiff up using simple ingredients) but these fudgy chocolate brownies have a delicious frosting layer of mint, and then they have a top layer that’s a melted chocolate ganache.
If you love all things mint flavored, make sure that these chocolate mint cupcakes and this mint buttercream are on your list too!
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⭐️ Why This Recipe Works
- Flavors: Mint and chocolate together are the perfect combinations for tons of flavor!
- Make-ahead: Since these are chilled, you can make them ahead of time, especially if you’re day is full of other cooking and baking. Chill until ready to serve.
- Texture: The fudgy brownie base, combined with a fluffy filling, and a soft, smooth topping, gives so many different textures that everyone will love when taking a bite!
🧾 Ingredients Needed
I’ve highlighted a couple of ingredients with some relevant notes. Aside from this, the ingredients needed are pretty basic.
- Butter – we used unsalted butter for this ganache, as we prefer that when combined with chocolates.
- Green Food Coloring – Gel paste coloring is recommended over traditional liquid food coloring.
- Heavy Cream – You may notice that “heavy cream” is listed in the ingredients, twice. This is because we add some to the brownie mix and to the ganache.
📖 Substitutions
Sometimes substitutions are necessary because of ingredients that are unavailable or needed for dietary restrictions. Here are some suggestions that can help:
- Chocolate Chips – This recipe calls for semisweet chocolate chips but if you prefer a milk chocolate ganache, that’s ok to substitute too. We used them these brownies with cream cheese frosting too.
- Box Mix – If you have a recipe for homemade brownies that you love, you can use that recipe instead of a box mix. Just make sure to allow it to chill after baking so it’s chilled enough for the mint frosting. (Similar to our brownie recipe made with cornflakes.)
🥘 Equipment
- 9×9” baking pan
- Offset spatula (You should be able to get by with a butter knife, or a rubber spatula would work well too.)
👩🏻🍳 How to Make Mint Chocolate Brownies
Don’t let the layers fool you! This is an easy recipe, especially since it starts out by making a boxed brownie mix!
This mint brownie recipe is broken into 3 components:
- baking the brownies
- making/topping with the mint layer of frosting/filling
- making/topping with the chocolate ganache
*Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full ingredients list & instructions!*
How to Make the Brownies
STEP 1. Preheat oven to 350° F. and line the bottom and sides of a 9×9-inch baking pan with parchment to extend over the sides. (We like to cut small slits in the corners of the paper to help it fit nicely.)
STEP 2. Mix brownies together. Next, in a large mixing bowl mix the brownie mix, oil, 1/3 cup of heavy cream, and egg (Image 1).
STEP 3. Pour batter in pan. Then, pour the brownie batter into the prepared baking pan (Image 2) and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted, comes out clean. Then allow the brownies to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes and then lift the brownies out of the pan and place them on a baking sheet.
STEP 4. Chill. Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator and chill the brownies for 20 minutes while you make the mint filling.
Tip: It’s important to let the brownies completely cool before adding the peppermint and chocolate layers. This is important so they stay solid and don’t ooze out. However, if you want to speed up chill time, you can put the brownies in the freezer, and this will reduce chilling time by more than half.
How to Make the Peppermint Filling
STEP 5. Melt chocolate and cream. In a microwave-safe bowl (we use glass) combine the white chocolate chips with the 6 tablespoons of heavy cream (Image 3) and heat for 1 minute, or until the chocolate is 85% melted, stir, and let it sit. (Keep in mind that the mixture will continue to melt, so give it another stir until the mixture is smooth in texture).
STEP 6. Continue with filling. In a medium-sized bowl beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium-high spped until smooth and creamy, which is about 2 minutes (Image 5). Then, add the melted white chocolate, salt, peppermint extract, and food coloring to the cream cheese, and beat for 1 minute, increasing speed to high for an additional minute, or until light and fluffy (Image 6).
STEP 7. Top with mint filling. Frost the chilled brownie layer with the mint icing and place the brownies back in the refrigerator for 1 hour (Images 7 & 8).
How to Make the Chocolate Ganache Topping
STEP 9. Mix butter and chocolate. Combine butter and semi-sweet chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl (Image 9) and heat for 30 seconds, stir, and continue heating in 15-30 second intervals until the chocolate has a smooth and pourable consistency (Image 10).
STEP 10. Top with ganache. Pour the chocolate ganache over the peppermint layer (Image 11) smoothing it out with an offset spatula (Image 12).
STEP 11. Chill. Return the baking sheet to the refrigerator and chill the brownies for 3 hours, to allow the chocolate layer to properly set.
Tip: Before cutting, you can let the brownies sit on the counter for 5-10 minutes to allow the chocolate topping to soften slightly, as this will make them easier to cut, so the chocolate layer doesn’t break or come off the peppermint layer. To ensure clean cuts in your brownie layers, clean and dry your knife before making each cut
STEP 12. Cut into pieces. Cut into 12 equal-sized servings and keep in the refrigerator until ready to eat.
💭 Recipe Pro Tips
- Darker green. If you want your green frosting to be darker, you can use 2 drops of gel paste instead of one.
- Even cut squares. This multi-wheeled cutter takes the guesswork out of trying to get equal-sized servings.
- Andes Mints. If you love those mint chips or candies, you can add some of the top of the brownies.
📋 Recipe FAQs
The fat content added to brownies can help make them fudgier. More flour can make brownies more cake-like.
Peppermint extract is typically used in mint chocolate recipes, however, spearmint extract may work just fine too!
Using heavy cream in brownie mix, instead of water, can help make brownies moister.
❄️ Storage
How to store mint brownies: Brownies will keep for up to 1 week in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
Freezer Instructions: This recipe freezes well. Simply cut into individual serving sizes and then wrap each piece in plastic wrap (or Press n Seal is our favorite for freezing) and place in a freezer bag and freeze. When you are ready to eat, let them thaw out on the counter for a few hours beforehand.
🍰 More Dessert Recipes
If you love easy desserts, then you’ll love these red velvet brownies but you’re also going to love these reader favorites:
📖 Recipe
Mint Chocolate Brownies
Ingredients
Brownie Base
- 1 box brownie mix (We used Ghiradelli)
- 1 large egg
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
Peppermint Filling
- 11 ounces white chocolate chips (312g)
- 6 Tablespoons heavy cream
- 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature (226g)
- 1 pinch salt
- ¾ teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1 drop gel paste food coloring (We used ‘leaf green’)
Chocolate Ganache
- 12 ounces package of semi-sweet chocolate chips (340g) Make sure to use high quality chocolate
- ½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
Instructions
How to Make Brownies
- Preheat oven to 350° F. and line the bottom and sides of a 9×9-inch baking pan with parchment to extend over the sides. (We like to cut small slits in the corners of the paper to help it fit nicely.)
- Next, in a large mixing bowl mix the brownie mix, oil, 1/3 cup of heavy cream, and egg.
- Pour the brownie batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted, comes out clean. Then allow the brownies to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes and then lift the brownies out of the pan and place them on a baking sheet.
- Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator and chill the brownies for 20 minutes while you make the mint filling.
How to Make the Mint Filling
- In a microwave-safe bowl (we use glass) combine the white chocolate chips with the 6 tablespoons of heavy cream and heat for 1 minute, or until the chocolate is 85% melted, stir, and let it sit. (Keep in mind that the mixture will continue to melt, so give it another stir until the mixture is smooth in texture).
- In a medium-sized bowl beat the cream cheese on medium/high speed using a handheld mixer until smooth and creamy, which is about 2 minutes. Then, add the melted white chocolate, salt, peppermint extract, and food coloring to the cream cheese, and beat for 1 minute, increasing speed to high for an additional minute, or until light and fluffy.
- Frost the chilled brownies with the mint icing and place the brownies back in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Chocolate Ganache
- Combine the butter and semi-sweet chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl (we use glass) and heat for 30 seconds. Stir and continue heating it in 15-30 second intervals until the chocolate has a smooth and pourable consistency.
- Next, pour the chocolate ganache over the peppermint layer, smoothing it out with an offset spatula.
- Return the baking sheet of brownies to the refrigerator and chill the brownies for 3 hours, to allow the chocolate layer to set properly.
- Cut the brownies into 12 equal-sized square servings and keep them in the refrigerator until they're ready to eat.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
Sharina says
This recipe is so amazing! It tastes so good! I’ll surely make this on repeat.
Journa Liz Ramirez says
These mint chocolate brownies are very fudgy and flavorful! My kids can’t get enough of them. Their new favorite snack.
Cara T says
I love how these look fancy but are really easy to make! Next time I will definitely make a double batch for sure.