I love me some brownies and this was yet another excellent version of the delicious, classic treat.
Basically the gist is a simple (fudgy and decadent) brownie batter infused with chunks of minty, sweet, chocolatey Andes squares. I didn’t know this would happen when I was shoving them in the oven, but after baking, the morsels of Andes mints all sank down near the bottom of the brownies. Initially, I was disappointed, but after the brownies cooled and we inhaled them, I loved the yumminess of biting into the soft, chewy brownie and then getting a refreshing wave of smooth, minty crust on the bottom.
Delish.
One Year Ago: Chocolate Thumbprints
Two Years Ago: Italian Chicken Pastina
Andes Mint Brownies
Printable Version with Picture
Printable Version
*Makes one 9X13-inch pan
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup cocoa
½ teaspoon salt
1 package Andes mints (24-28 mints)
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9X13-inch pan with foil and lightly grease with cooking spray. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa and salt. Set aside.
Unwrap all the mints and coarsely chop. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Remove from the heat and add the sugar, stirring well to combine. Whisk in the vanilla and then the eggs. Blend well.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well. Gently stir in the chopped Andes mints. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 32-35 minutes, until the brownies are set in the middle but not overbaked. Let cool completely, slice into squares and serve.
Recipe Source: adapted from this recipe
{ 33 comments… read them below or add one }
I have often had the problem of my candy sinking, too! I am sure these are still delicious. Andes remind me of my grandparents – they always had a bowl of them at their house.
I love the mint and chocolate combo, so I know I’d be a fan!
I came across a similar recipe by martha stewart..she used york peppermint patties…she shingled her peppermint and layered 1/3 of the batter on the bottom…
I have also had the problem of sinking candy, chocolate chips or nuts. The best solution for this problem is to reserve a little of the flour and use it to coat the candy (or choc. chips or nuts) before incorporating it into the batter. I have tried this method, and it works! If you were using whole Andes it might not work (they would be too heavy), but since your recipe uses chopped candy I think it would be worth a try!
Now- about these brownies. I love chocolate and mint together! I bet these were fabulous! This is going into my “must bake” recipe file. Thanks for sharing, Melanie!
I love Andes mints…I will definitely be trying these brownies!
Also, I made your recipe for Creamy Orzo with Chicken, Mushrooms & Peppers for dinner last night. It was a big hit with my husband and 2 boys! It made a ton though, I think for us it was more like 8 servings, instead of four…lol
Thanks for your site, I’ve bookmarked a bunch of your recipes that I am eager to try!
I’m thinking of making these for breakfast!! Can’t wait to try these. Andes bits are my favorite.
I’ve been looking for a simple way to make chocolate mint brownies. This is brilliant! All of a sudden, I’m feeling “hungry”…
I’ve done this before with my brownie recipe, YUM! You should try brownies cooked with Junior Mints. I love how that mints gets ooey-gooey when it’s cooked! You just sprinkle them on top of the batter when the brownie is about 1/2 way cooked. We got the idea from a Williams-Sonoma store one Christmas. They’ve been a Christmas treat ever since!
I agree with Kim in MD. I always save a little of the flour mixture when making brownies or blondies to coat the chips with. This helps distribute them evenly through the batter or dough. I even do this when I’m making chocolate chip cookies. I can’t wait to try the andes mints.
Brownies with the Andes mint baking pieces are really good too and the pieces are small so they don’t sink as much.
These look great! I love Andes mints too! I make Andes Mint Brownies with the Andes Mint Pieces that you can buy next to the chocolate chips…and they just melt into the brownies. The only thing that makes them better is some home made chocolate frosting slapped on the top and the mints shaved or chopped and added to the top…yum!!
I often make brownies with some kind of cany in them – my favorite would have to Reese’s PB cups. All I do is split the batter in half…bake it for about 10 -15 minutes, then sprinkle the candy and add the other half of the batter and finish baking. Then, my candy doesn’t sink.
Hey everyone – thanks for all the tips on how you like the candy in your brownies. I think I mentioned this in the recipe, but I’ll actually make this recipe the same way and deliberately allow the andes mints to bake up near the bottom because I loved the effect of having a minty crust.
FoodieMama – so glad you liked the orzo dish. I’m getting the impression it serves more for more normal eaters – I think we have overly huge appetites at our house.
Do you think nuts would go well in this recipe, or are they too much.
oooohhhh if you knew how much I like brownies of all kinds! I once made a box mix with Andes on top – they were so good, so I am excited to try these scratch brownies with these yummy candies! I will let you know how many pounds I gain from these….
have you seen those andes mint baking chips? (i guess some of your other commenters have…) they’re awesome for something like this–not only do they not sink, but i prefer them simply because they don’t require the effort of unwrapping.
We are huge mint fans in this house, so I will definitely be making these. We don’t have Andes mints in this part of the world (well not that I know of). What size are they, or how big is the bag. Just trying to get an idea of what I can replace them with and how many I will need!
My cookbook guru, Maida Heatter, does a brownie with mint in it. I love them. Grace’s idea of using the mint baking chips sounds great. I’m going to look for them.
Megan – the bag is probably about 9 or 10 oz. I think about 28 mints come in a bag. They are small rectangles – I don’t have one here to measure, but I’d guess they are about 1/2-inch wide by about 1 inch. Hope that helps!
Kim – I’m not a huge nut-in-the-brownie fan so I probably would say they are too much but it’s always worth a try, especially if you like nuts!
Mel,
These brownie were fantastic and well received at the dinner party I took them too. It’s nice to have a brownie recipe that doesn’t include nuts, but has something extra to make them a bit more special for occasions like a casual dinner party.
Thanks for posting it.
P.S. I doubled the recipe, used a jelly roll pan and they came out just fine.
Scoggdog, thanks for your comment! I’m glad these worked out well for you…and thanks for the tip on doubling.
These brownies are everything a brownie should be. They are beautiful, chewy, fudgy, delicious, easy and my all time favorite thing, cheap to make! I love them and my familiy loved them. Thank you again for the great recipes!!
Oh, I also forgot to add. I cut the recipe in half, baked it in a 9X9 pan for 20-23 minutes and they turned out great.
Thanks, Jenn!
these were delicious and a huge hit– got tons of compliments and they are all gone! I also used the already chopped bag you can buy near the chocolate chips, and mine didn’t sink, or stay… it seems like they melted/dissolved. It may be bc i had to cook them longer (my oven accidentally lowered), so it was like a mint infusion throughout the whole brownie! so good! this recipe is definitely a keeper (like so many others on your site!)
oh, and thank you for posting it! i love your blog and have tried a handful of recipes that were all delicious!
Sometimes I feel dumb adding a comment when there are already dozens of them that pretty much say the same thing but I have to rave about these. I totally LOVED how the mints sank and made a chewy, minty crust. I liked it way better than brownies with candy floating around in them. I made them tonight and served them to some guests along with your Crunchy Southwest Chicken Wraps, Cilantro Lime Rice, and Balsamic Black Bean Salsa. Our guests raved about all 4 recipes. Thanks for your help. I never used to cook (seriously, maybe once a month) until a friend led me here. Your detailed instructions and practical recipes have given me the confidence to try dozens of new things and now I can’t stay out of the kitchen. You’ve changed my life just a little tiny bit. (And, YAY for Utahns living in the Midwest. I’m one too!)
Natalie – I’m glad you and I agree on the fact that these brownies are definitely improved thanks to the mints sinking. I loved that part! I’m so happy that you’ve had success with the recipes you’ve tried. Thank you so much for letting me know!
Thanks, Kristen! I love the sound of a completely mint-infused brownie!
There were the highlight of our family BBQ on Sat night!!!
Thanks, Tanya!
I’ve also heard another yummy suggestion for brownies or chocolate cake. Mix and bake them as normal, yet pull them out once there are only a few minutes left and put the Andes mints on top. Bake those last few minutes, then let them cool. The Andes mints melt then harden a bit on top, and I’ve heard it’s delicious!
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