Thin Mint Brownie Bites

For the fun of St. Patrick’s Day, I made these simple brownie treats with a touch of green, thanks to the recipe idea from The Traveling Spoon. These incorporate Thin Mints, my favorite Girl Scout Cookies! Brownie bites are easier to serve than the traditional brownies, with no utensils or clean-up needed. Just pop them into your mouth!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 Box of brownie mix of your choice (I used Duncan Hines Fudge Brownies)
• 1 sleeve of Thin Mints (crushed)
• 1 stick of unsalted butter (softened)
• 2 cups of powdered sugar
• 1.5 – 2 tablespoons of milk
• 1/2 teaspoon of peppermint extract
• 4 drops of green food coloring

DIRECTIONS:

For the brownie batter: Follow the directions on the box, and stir in crushed Thin Mints. Place mini paper liners into 2 mini muffin pans. No greasing needed. (I used 1 mini and 1 regular pan because that is all I had on-hand). Pour 1 tablespoon of brownie batter into each liner.

For the green marble-like icing: Stir together all these ingredients. Icing should be a little bit thick and not runny. Place a little dollop of icing on top of each brownie batter, and then swirl it with a knife to create a marble-like effect.

Bake in a preheated oven at 325F for about 14-17 minutes. Watch the brownies towards the end to make sure they don’t overflow. Cool brownies in pan for about 20 minutes. Put the extra icing in an icing bag or Ziploc bag with the corner tip cut-off, and decorate a green touch on top of the brownie. Enjoy the luck of the Irish!

 

Valentine Cookie Bouquet

My husband and I’s wedding anniversary is on Valentine’s Day. This year, we agreed to do something different with our gift-giving. Instead of buying each other gifts, we created something special for each other. I’m so glad we did because it made our anniversary so much more special! My husband’s favorite cookie is my Valentine Sugar Cookies with Icing. So, I decided to bake these cookies and turn them into something more by making a Cookie Bouquet. It was my first time creating it, and I was happy with the way it turned out. I bought a pack of 20 lollipop sticks found in the party supplies/baking section of Wal-Mart for a couple of dollars, and got a pack of 25 clear plastic favor bags with twist-ties from Michael’s using my 40% off coupon. The sticks are oven-safe, too. I just simply pressed the stick on the bottom half of the heart-shaped cookie dough cut-outs, and wah-la! The bottom of the vase was filled with 100+ pieces of folded paper of “Reasons Why I Love You”. Next time I make one of these cookie bouquets, I’ll put something heavy like glass pebbles inside the bottom of the vase to weigh the it down.

 

Valentine Sugar Cookies with Icing

My sister introduced me to this Williams-Sonoma recipe several years ago. Ever since then, I’ve made these cookies as a tradition every Valentine’s Day season. They have become my husband’s favorite cookies!

VALENTINE SUGAR COOKIES:

When working with differently shaped cookie cutters, make sure that the cookies on each cookie sheet are the same shape to ensure even baking.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 8 Tbs. (1 stick) margarine
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 tsp. grated lemon zest
• Frosting, decorative icings and sugars

Directions:

Have all the ingredients at room temperature.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat together the butter, margarine and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla and lemon zest and beat until just blended. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in three additions, beating each addition until just blended.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a ball. Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a disk. Wrap the disks separately in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or as long as overnight.
Preheat an oven to 350ºF.
Generously flour 2 cookie sheets and roll out the dough directly onto the sheets to 1/4-inch thickness. Using lightly floured cookie cutters, cut out cookies. Carefully gather the dough from around the cutouts and set aside to roll out again.
Bake the cookies until the edges are just golden and the centers are just firm to the touch, 12 to 15 minutes. Using a thin metal spatula, immediately loosen the cookies and let them set for 3 to 5 minutes, then carefully transfer them to a wire rack and let cool completely. When the cookie sheets have cooled, roll out the remaining dough onto the sheets, cut out cookies and bake.
Decorate the cookies with frosting, icings and sugars. Store in an airtight container for up to 7 days. Makes 20 to 24 cookies.

SUGAR COOKIE ICING:

This icing dries hard and shiny and the colors stay bright. Choose as many different food colorings as you desire.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup confectioner’s sugar
3 teaspoons milk
3 teaspoons light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
assorted food coloring

DIRECTIONS:

In a small bowl, stir together confectioner’s sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add a tiny bit more of corn syrup and/or milk to get the desired consistency, if needed. Divide icing into seperate bowls, and add food colorings to each to desired intensity. Put the icing onto the cookies with a frosting spatula or spoon. Sprinkle crystal sugars onto them, if desired. It takes several hours for the icing to dry.