Thin Mint Ganache Brownies

St. Patrick’s Day is almost here! You know… that day that you probably don’t know the meaning of, but still use it as an excuse to drink an unnatural amount of green beer, corned beef, and everything minty. But mostly the beer, right? Whether or not you know why you are honoring Saint Patrick, I’m all for any reason to mixing up some festive bright green treats.

I’d like to think of myself as a connoisseur of all things mint. Luckily for y’all, Girl Scout cookie season just hit town. Maybe I should more appropriately say cookie hurricane season hit, because I am now the proud owner of an entire overflowing case of cookies.

Shortbread, Samoa, Thin Mints. I don’t discriminate. I’ll eat ’em all. The idea was that I would get a couple of each, make some new recipes with them (because then it’s a business expense, amiright???), and eat a few leftovers. Turns out that it kinda tends to work itself out the other way. I ate all of the shortbread cookies before even beginning to think of what I might make with them. Luckily, as one does, I have a fantastic cookie dealer that got me the hookup on replacement boxes for the ones that I destroyed during ummm… recipe testing, we’ll say.

I did think ahead a bit on one of the cookies — the Thin Mints. I keep a box or three of these hidden in the back of the freezer. So while I’m not the world’s biggest chocolate fan (no more hate mail, please), I do love a solid brownie. The fudge type with that weird paper-like top that develops once baked. Why not toss some Thin Mints into that mix? Done!

PS — Did you all know that Saint Patrick isn’t technically a Saint? That his name was actually Maewyn Succat? That the shamrock was a tool used by Saint Patrick to illustrate the Holy Trinity to convert the Irish pagans? All of the festivities around the Irish celebrations became popular in the 19th and 20th centuries when many Irish relocated around the world.

We can’t have a Patty’s Day recipe without something obnoxiously green. Mint buttercream, anyone? I think so. It’s butter, sugar, and mint extract. I don’t hate anything about that. Since I am a bit obsessive about symmetry, I topped the top with more chocolate. I’ve been playing with ganache a lot lately (check out that Chocolate Ganache Tart that I posted recently. SO good!, so why not use that on the top? Ganache is incredibly simple, but one of the best finishing touches you can use on a dessert.

Grab your green beer and a brownie and do a jig! Cheers, y’all.

The super cute green ceramic plates and books were provided by Draper James.
Check out a little interview with me on their blog HERE.