MInty Fudgey Oreo Brownies

My parents live in New York, in a little town called Floral Park, right on the edge of a little borough known as Queens. If you're from the United States, you've heard of Queens. It's kinda funny to me how they're right next door to Queens. It's literally one block over.

*Hop here* Right turn on red.
*Hop there* No turn on red.
*Hop here* Busses.
*Hop there* Subway.

Every time we go up to visit them, my dad barbecues. It's his big thing. And it doesn't matter what time of year; it could be freaking December, and we'll have a barbecue. My father & my husband will be shivering over the grill outside, clutching beers & huddling into their coats, while my stepmother & I sit at the kitchen table, shaking our heads and skewering veggie kebabs.

My husband & I are going to a barbecue today--no, not in NY, down here in Virginia. Last time we had dinner with this particular set of friends, I had made Triple Layer Mint Oreo Brownies, by Averie Sunshine of Averiecooks.com.  The male half of the other couple looked at the dessert, grunted, and immediately went back to his jambalaya; apparently my offering wasn't good enough.  His wife later told me that the very next day he devoured the entire pan of brownies on his own when he thought no one was looking. I think sometimes men get into their own little Alpha Male world, where there's no room for us. Doesn't mean they don't love us, though!

So yeah, of course I had to make those again for today. They're my new secret weapon! But I'm skipping some of the original steps, because they didn't seem to add anything to the first experience, and I'm adding a step of my own. You're gonna like this step.

(PS: Yes, I know, I'm using boxed mixes instead of homemade. Haven't you ever had that day where you've gone swimsuit shopping only to discover that while you're perfectly happy in a size XL tshirt, you apparently wear a size HIPPO swimsuit because you can actually hear seams ripping as you try to pull on the bathing suit over your head in the Walmart changing room, so now you're all depressed and oh great, don't forget you have to make a dessert with like 4 different layers on it because it's that one guy's favorite...  Don't judge me. *Sniff*  And if you have had that day, this will totally make it better.)

Ingredients

1 box of brownie mix, plus whatever oil/eggs/water is required per box directions

Step 1: Brownies

1 jar of Marshmallow Fluff, at least 7 ounces
1 tub of vanilla frosting (Homestyle, not Whipped)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon mint extract
Green food coloring
1 package of Mint Oreo Cookies
5 ounces of semisweet or bittersweet Baker's Chocolate
1/3 to 1/2 cup of half & half or cream

1) Preheat oven to 350º.
2) Line an 8x8 or 9x9 pan with aluminum foil & spray with PAM or something similar.

Step 2: Minty stuff

3) Make up the brownie batch. As the last step in mixing the brownies, gently mix in 8 or 9 broken-up Oreos into the batter before turning it out into your prepared pan.
4) Bake the Oreo-spiked brownies as directed on the package, then let the brownies cool completely.
5) Mix together 1 cup of marshmallow fluff & the tub of vanilla frosting.
6) Add in 1/4 teaspoon of mint extract. Keep tasting, and add more mint as needed. I ended up using 1/2
teaspoon of mint extract.
7) Mix in the green food coloring; start with 10 drops of food coloring, then add more as needed until you get the shade of green that you want. Or red. You could use red food coloring. Or blue. Eh, do what you want.
8) Now spread the minty mix over the cooled brownies. Once it's evenly spread, pop the pan into the fridge.
9) While the brownies are in the fridge, make chocolate ganache:

Step 3: Fudgey stuff

• Roughly chop up 5 ounces (5 squares) of Baker's chocolate. Sweep the chocolate into a small mixing bowl.
• Measure out between 1/3 and 1/2 cup of half & half (keep pouring until the half & half is between the 1/3 and 1/2 lines on your measuring cup); heat this in a small saucepan or pot on your stove, at low-medium, until it comes to a rolling boil.
• Slowly pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate in the mixing bowl, whisking carefully; keep whisking gently until the mixture suddenly comes together and looks like chocolate syrup.

Step 4: Cookie stuff

10) Walk away and leave the ganache sitting on your kitchen counter for about 30 minutes. Go read a comic book. Better yet, break up about 15 to 20 more of the Mint Oreo Cookies and leave them on a plate or cutting board or something, and then go read a comic book.

11) After 20 to 30 minutes, pull the brownies out of the refrigerator and carefully pour the chocolate ganache over the top. Spread it out evenly, being careful not to dig into the marshmallow mint layer underneath.

12) Now sprinkle the remaining broken Oreos on top of the chocolate ganache. 

13) Put the whole thing back in the refrigerator to set; make sure it's completely set before cutting into them with a sharp knife.

There you have it. You make your brownies, you throw on some frosting, you throw on some chocolate, you throw on some Oreos. Not bad, right? You could even make these in a muffin pan using cupcake liners instead. These things are insanely sweet and rich, but definitely impressive. You know, if you're trying to impress someone.