These Fudgy Peppermint Mocha Brownies are loaded with dark chocolate, espresso powder and of course, peppermint extract! They’re so fudgy, dense and delicious – the perfect holiday treat!
Holiday baking is seriously upon us! What is your favorite thing to bake during the holiday season? My family and I always make cutout sugar cookies and decorate them.
I for one have been using my oven like crazy! From my Chai Snickerdoodles…to my White Chocolate Cranberry Shortbread Cookies and now, these Fudgy Peppermint Mocha Brownies!
Brownies are my absolute weakness. I love eating the batter, eating them right out of the pan the minute they come out of the oven, eating them with milk, with ice cream….eating them at midnight. Lol! I will eat them anyway, anytime!
Why I love brownies, specifically, these Fudgy Peppermint Mocha Brownies
I love how extremely fudgy these brownies are! I am not a huge fan of cakey brownies. I love thick and dense slices of brownies loaded with dark chocolate – which is exactly what these brownies entail!
The peppermint extract never overwhelms the entire flavor like you think it may. It is the perfect compliment to the dark chocolate flavor. Who doesn’t love chocolate and mint?!
The mocha part? Comes from adding straight up espresso powder. Yup. You can skip your morning cup of joe if you’re having one of these brownies! But in all seriousness, I love adding espresso powder to this recipe. It makes the brownies incredibly rich and luscious!
Drizzle with even more dark chocolate on top and top with crushed peppermint and you’re all set for a delicious dessert! Let’s get into how to make them!
Ingredients You Need for Fudgy Peppermint Mocha Brownies:
- salted butter
- dark chocolate chips
- cocoa powder
- eggs
- peppermint extract
- vanilla extract
- espresso powder
- granulated sugar
- flour
- salt
- crushed candy canes
How to Make Fudgy Peppermint Mocha Brownies:
Start, as always by pre-heating the oven! Gotta get it warmed up, you know. Next, grab a microwave safe bowl and add one stick of salted butter and dark chocolate chips. Microwave it for about 40-60 seconds. Stir until it’s melted and smooth.
To the melted butter, add in cocoa powder! Mix until there are no lumps of cocoa and it’s super smooth and velvety. Let cool for a few minutes!
In a large bowl, add the eggs, vanilla extract, peppermint extract, espresso powder, sugar and a pinch of salt. Whisk together until combined.
Add the chocolate/cocoa/butter mixture directly to the larger bowl. Mix until fully combined.
Sift in the flour and mix with a large spoon! The texture should be very thick, like this:
To the batter, gently fold in some extra dark chocolate morsels. Set this aside for now!
Grease an 8×8 baking pan with either butter or cooking spray and then line it with parchment paper. Add your batter directly to the pan and make sure you spread it evenly, getting the edges of the parchment paper covered!
Bake for 30-35 minutes – but make sure and check them at 30 minutes! You do NOT want to overbake these! Even if you put a toothpick in them and it isn’t fully clean, that’s okay! They will continue to bake in the pan when you take them out. You want them to remain fudgy!
Let the brownies cool for 10 or so minutes and then remove them from the pan and let finish cooling on a wire rack.
Drizzle with more melted dark chocolate if desired and sprinkle crushed candy canes on top for an extra festive look! Eat with milk and ENJOY!
Did you like this recipe? Here are a few others you might like:
Dark Chocolate Truffle Brownies
Thank you so much for following along here, friends! Want to see more? Be sure to follow ourbalancedbowl on Instagram and tag me with your photo if you end up making a recipe! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the Our Balanced Bowl Facebook page! Like a recipe that you saw? Follow me on Pinterest here! I always love to see your re-creations! If you do make a recipe, it would make my whole day if you were to rate and comment so I can get your feedback! Lots of love! – Haylie
Fudgy Peppermint Mocha Brownies
These Fudgy Peppermint Mocha Brownies are loaded with dark chocolate, espresso powder and of course, peppermint extract! They’re so fudgy, dense and delicious - the perfect holiday treat!
Ingredients
- 1 stick salted butter
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips (divided)
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp espresso powder
- 1 and 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Add about 1/2 cup of the dark chocolate chips and the stick of butter. Microwave for 30-40 seconds and then stir until it's fully melted and stir until smooth.
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To the melted chocolate, add in the cocoa powder. Mix until smooth and no lumps. Set aside to let cool.
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In a large bowl, add the 3 eggs, vanilla extract, peppermint extract, espresso powder, granulated sugar and salt. Whisk together for about 10 seconds, until combined. To this mixture, add in the melted chocolate and mix until fully combined. Sift in the flour. Mix with a large spoon (not whisk!) until it's fully combined. The texture should be like very thick chocolate frosting.
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To the batter, gently fold in about 1/4 cup of the remaining dark chocolate chips.
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Butter the inside of the 8x8 pan and then line it with parchment paper. Add the batter directly to the pan, spreading it out evenly.
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Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes. If you stick a toothpick in the brownies, it still might not be fully clean but that's okay because the brownies will continue to cook longer in the pan after you take them out. This is what makes them extra fudgy! Note: If you overbake them - they will be dry and cakey. Please trust me on this one!
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Let cool for at least 10 minutes and then remove them from the pan onto a wire cooling rack for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Take the remaining 1 oz of the semi-sweet chocolate chips and melt them in the microwave. It helps to get a good drizzling chocolate to add in a little bit of butter or coconut oil to melt with the chocolate. Drizzle the melted chocolate on top of the brownies and garnish with crushed peppermint candy canes!
Peppermint mocha brownies are one of my favourite holiday treats! Love your recipe Haylie. They look so fudgy. Happy holidays!
Thank you, Leanne! Happy Holidays to you! 🙂
Brownie perfection! So dense and fudgy and decadent! Love the peppermint in these, it’s so festive!
Thank you so much, Kelly! Merry Christmas!
These look SO fudgy my friend. Well done!!! I’m seriously craving a batch of these right now! Chocolate and peppermint is maybe the best holiday combination, don’t you think!? Yum!!! Merry Christmas Haylie!
I love chocolate and peppermint together too! 🙂 Thanks Katherine!