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These Peppermint Triple Chocolate Brownies are rich, decadent, and festive! Chewy brownies topped with an easy peppermint frosting!
Did you think I could actually make it through the Christmas Season without posting a peppermint treat? Impossible!
To be honest, it took me this long because I was a little scarred after making 1,500 peppermint swirl cookies (similar to these). I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into when I decided to sell Holiday pies and cookie tins. How many would I actually sell? LOL.
The joke was on me because the answer was hundreds. 9,000 cookies later, I did actually live to tell about it. Barely.
These brownies weren’t in the tins but they are everything holiday baking stands for: rich, decadent, and nostalgic. While the peppermint frosting is incredibly easy, the brownies have a few more steps than your run-of-the-mill box mix.
Sometimes the best is simple, but sometimes being the best takes a little more work! ?
To break it down, we are going to beat the eggs and the sugar together (called a whole egg foam) until the ribbon stage and then we’ll pour the melted butter and chocolate into whipping egg foam. A touch extra all in the name of extra rich and chewy brownies!
Tips for amazing Triple Chocolate Peppermint Brownies:
- Melting the cocoa powder with the butter and dark chocolate makes it easier to incorporate into the batter and will result in a more intense chocolate brownie! If you forget, just whisk it into the dry ingredients.
- Make sure the chocolate mixture is melted but not hot. I usually start melting while I scale the remaining ingredients. As soon as it is melted, I remove it from the heat and set on a kitchen towel until I am ready. Heating gently in a bowl set over simmering water also helps here. If it gets too hot, just wait and let it cool down.
- It is important that the eggs and sugar are at ribbon stage. This is the main leavening in the brownie and it will give you that chewy texture. You know you’ve reached ribbon stage when you let the egg foam run off the whisk as you move it over the bowl and it sits on top of the rest of the batter briefly before disappearing back into the foam.
If you would rather slather this peppermint frosting on an easier, yet still amazing, brownie, then this one is for you! No judgement here. One bowl, one pan, one damn delicious brownie. Seasons Greetings! ??
Peppermint Triple Chocolate Brownies
Ingredients
For the Brownies:
- 96 g all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon espresso powder
- 170 g unsalted butter
- 40 g cocoa powder
- 85 g 70% chocolate
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- 300 g sugar
For the Peppermint American Buttercream:
- 113 g unsalted butter
- 227 g confectioner's sugar ½ of a 1 lb box
- ¼ teaspoon pure peppermint extract more to taste
- 32 ½ g heavy cream more as needed
Instructions
Prepare the brownies:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare a pan with criss-crossed parchment paper. Let it overhang to create a handle.
- In a large bain or bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, and espresso powder; set aside.
- Melt together the butter, cocoa powder, and chocolate over a bain marie.
- In a large bowl beat the eggs with the vanilla and add sugar, beat until light and fluffy.
- Stir in the melted butter and chocolate and whisk to incorporate.
- Fold in the flour mixture.
- Pour into prepared baking dish and bake in preheated oven for 16-18 minutes or until the middle of the brownie has puffed and a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs (which is a little hard sometimes because of the gooey chocolate!). Cool completely before icing or removing from the pan.
Prepare the frosting:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat together butter, confectioner's sugar, and extract until light and smooth. Switch to the whisk attachment.
- Add cream and whisk on high until light and fluffy and white.
- Frost your cooled brownies and serve! You can add crushed candy canes or peppermint candies for extra peppermint flavor.
Video
Notes
Let’s get into it like a PROFESSIONAL CHEF:
Presentation – Let the brownies cool completely before frosting, and also cool before cutting for a clean edge! I love adding some colorful sprinkles on top to make them extra festive. Variations – Yes, it’s ok to use chocolate chips! You can use vanilla extract instead of peppermint extract in the icing, whatever you have in your pantry is perfect. Flavor Tips – Because chocolate is a star flavor in these brownies, you should use the highest quality chocolate you can find. Technique – It is important that the eggs and sugar are at the ribbon stage. This is the main leavening in the brownie and it will give you that chewy texture. You know you’ve reached the ribbon stage when you let the egg foam run off the whisk as you move it over the bowl and it sits on top of the rest of the batter briefly before disappearing back into the foam. Helpful Tools – Lining your pan with parchment paper is going to be a key detail for these, since it makes your brownies easy to take out of the pan! Variations – You could also use any of the following frostings instead of peppermint: Lemon American Buttercream, The Best Cream Cheese Buttercream, Chocolate Fudge Glaze, or Homemade Marshmallow Frosting. Storage – Store baked unfrosted brownies in an air-tight container at room temperature, refrigerated or frozen. Zip-top plastic bags also work nicely. These brownies will keep 3 days at room temperature, a week in the refrigerator or 2 months frozen. Store unused buttercream in an airtight, clean container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Buttercream can be frozen for longer storage. Once frosted, brownies can be kept at room temperature for up to three days before the buttercream spoils. For longer storage, store in the refrigerator. Yield: 1, ¼ inch SheetNutrition
Before You Go
Check out our other delicious, chef-developed chocolate dessert recipes, or head straight to my Best Red Velvet Cupcake Recipe next!
