Mint To Be

These brownies are rich, balanced, and surprisingly easy to love. The base is everything a brownie should be - dense, fudgy, and deeply chocolatey - while the layers on top bring something extra without tipping into excess. A smooth mint buttercream adds freshness and contrast, and a dark chocolate ganache sets just firm enough to hold everything together. Each layer stands on it’s own, but together they create a brownie that feels intentional, indulgent, and incredibly satisfying.

I made these brownies for a friend’s birthday in January, I felt a brownie felt right as I knew his family was already making his favorite cake - don’t worry I checked with his wife first. I texted his wife to ask what he liked best and her answer was simple: mint and chocolate. So I built this recipe just for him. Somewhere along the way, it became one of my favorite recipes and I have been trying to create a brownie recipe tailored to a friend of mine so I was already knee deep in brownies at this point. So much chocolate haha! The mint buttercream cuts through the richness of the chocolate in a way that feels clean and refreshing, not overpowering or artificial. Or like toothpaste. The ganache on top adds structure and depth, bringing everything together without making the whole thing feel heavy.

I’ve always been a bar person over a cake person. Cakes can be finicky and dry, while bars feel endlessly adaptable - easy to portion, easy to share, and open to endless variations. This recipe is a perfect is a perfect example. With a simple flavor swap in the buttercream, these brownies can turn into something completely new, making them just as fun to experiment withas they are to bake. Below, you’ll find step-by-step instructions, along with photos to guide you through every layer, so you can make these mint to be brownies - or your owhn variation - in your own kitchen.

Flavor Swap Notes: This brownie base loves a good change up. Try strawberry in the buttercream for Valentine’s Day, banana for a chocolate covered banana vibe, or keep it classic with vanilla for a rich, no-frills version.

Mint to Be Brownies

Yields: 9 x 9 sheet pan cake

Brownie Ingredients:

113g Unsalted Butter

200g Granulated Sugar

2 Lg Eggs

1t Vanilla Extract

27g Cocoa Powder (I used Ghirardelli Dutch Processed)

60g All Purpose Flour

1/4t Salt

1/4t Baking Powder

Peppermint Frosting Ingredients:

113g Unsalted Butter, Room Temp

180g Powdered Sugar

1 - 2T Heavy Cream

1/2t Peppermint Extract

2 - 3 Green Gel Food Coloring

Ganache Ingredients:

130g 60% Chocolate (I used this one because it doesn’t have shortening)

80g Heavy Cream

14g Unsalted Butter, Room Temp

Brownie Instructions:

Prep: Preheat your over to 350 degrees; prepare pan with cooking spray and parchment paper.

Step 1: In a pot on the stove top, melt butter then stir in cocoa powder. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add sugar and butter cocoa mixture and combine on speed one. You can not overmix at this point but this will help to bring the temp of you butter down so you do not cook your eggs when you add them.

Step 2: Slowly add eggs, vanilla, and salt to butter mixture just until combined.

Step 3: In a separate bowl mix together flour and baking powder; add in thirds to butter mixture.

Step 4: Evenly spread batter into prepared pan; bake 20 - 25 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool completely before proceeding to the next section.

Peppermint Frosting Instructions:

Step 1: In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and powdered sugar for 2 - 3 minutes.

Step 2: Slowly add heavy cream and peppermint extract.

Step 3: Add food coloring until you reach your desired color.

Step 4: Spread evenly over brownie and chill for at least 30 mins before proceeding to next section.

Note: You will see in some of the pictures below that I split the frosting in two and dyed it two different colors. I took these to a 2026 Superbowl party so I swirled the two colors for the Seahawks so when you cut into them it looks super cool. I missed getting the cutting image and they were ALL eaten before I remembered haha!

Ganache Instructions:

Step 1: In a small pot on the stove, warm heavy cream but be sure NOT to boil.

Step 2: Once hot turn off heat and add chocolate constantly stirring to melty the chocolate.

Step 3: Add butter and stir until emulsified and glossy.

Step 4: Let cool slightly so that when you pour over the buttercream, it doesn’t melt the butter in the frosting. Once the ganache is evenly poured over the top let cool at room temp; later put in the fridge to get clean cuts.

Pro Cutting Tip: Run your knife under hot water whipping it before each cut; the hot meatal will give you a clean cut and professional look when desired.

Make it Gluten Free: Replace the flour with 1:1 gluten free baking flour that contain xanthan gum already. I recommend Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Baking flour (blue bag) or King Arthur Gluten Free Measure for Measure; add an additional 1T oil or 1T milk. Let batter rest 15 - 20 mins in bowl before pour into pan so that the GF flour can take the time to absorb moisture - this prevents dryness and grittiness. Bake at same temp but you may need to add 5 mins to the bake time.

Make it Dairy Free: Swap the butter out for a plant-based butter substitute, it behaves closest to butter, avoid tubs that say spread, anything that says “light” or coconut oil alone. Replace milk with oat milk at the same ratio. You will also want to verify your chocolate does not have dairy, there are chocolate chips that are dairy free, I suggest Guittard DF chips or Enjoy Life.