Mint Chocolate Chip Brownies

I’m an expert on eating brownies, not making them.  I bake a lot, but the humble brownie is something I’d never bothered to try – until recently.  Now I can’t stop making them (luckily I’ve got plenty of test subjects who are more than willing to scoff my experimental batches!).

Mint-Chocolate Chip Brownies

• 160g butter/margarine
• 100g sugar
• 50g drinking chocolate powder (depending on how strong or weak-tasting it is, you may need to vary the amount)
• 2 eggs
• 100g milk chocolate (melted)
• 70g plain flour
• 1/2 tsp of baking powder
• powdered sugar
• 50g chocolate chips

(You’ll probably notice that I’ve left the mint out of the ingredients list – this is because there are a variety of ways you can add it.  You could add mint flavoured drinking chocolate – which is what I did – or you could swap the milk chocolate for a bar of mint chocolate, or you could add as much freshly chopped mint leaves as you like, as well as a few to decorate 🙂 )

1. Melt the butter in the microwave (carefully – it makes a right mess if you leave it!), and then stir in the sugar.
2. Stir in the drinking chocolate powder, and then gradually add the eggs.
3. Melt your chocolate bar in the microwave (again, keep a close eye – burnt chocolate is unpleasant for two reasons: firstly – because it tastes disgusting, and secondly – wasting chocolate should be against the law) and then stir it in (along with the mint flavouring if you haven’t already).
4. Stir in the flour and baking powder.
5. Spoon into an open proof dish and cook at 180 for around 15 minutes, or until you see a nice big crack appear across the top.
6. Decorate with powdered sugar and chopped mint 🙂