Shelly's Recipe

PALM BEACH BROWNIES WITH CHOCOLATE-COVERED MINTS

Category: Brownies/Blondies

8 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 cup unsalted butter
3-3/4 cups granulated sugar
5 eggs
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1-2/3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
8 oz. (2 generous cups) walnuts, broken in large pieces
48 York chocolate-covered peppermint patties (about 2-1/2 eleven ounce bags)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees with rack one third up from the bottom. Add 1 tablespoon butter to a 13x9 inch baking pan and place in preheating oven. When butter is melted, spread it over the foil with a pastry brush; set aside.

In a 4-6 cup heavy saucepan or double boiler, melt chocolate and butter over low heat, stirring until chocolate and butter are melted. Remove from heat; set aside.

Beat the sugar, eggs, espresso powder, extracts and salt in a large bowl of an electric mixer set at high speed for 10 minutes. Add the chocolate mixture (which may still be warm) with mixer on low speed. Beat just until blended. Add the flour and beat again on low speed just until mixed. Stir in the nuts.

Spoon half the mixture (about 3-1/2 cups) into prepared pan; smooth top. Layer the peppermints over the chocolate layer. They should touch each other and come as close to the edges of the pan as possible (do not cut mints in half to fill-in spaces-the filling will ooze and burn). Spoon remaining chocolate mixture over mints; carefully smooth top. Bake for 35 minutes (and no longer), rotating the pan once during baking. Start checking the pan at 30 minutes, if you over bake these, the mints will start exploding, it's not good.

Remove from oven and let stand in pan until completely cool. Invert pan and remove foil lining. Invert again so brownies are right side up. Refrigerate a few hours or overnight before cutting.

Use a long knife with a sharp blade to cut the brownies into quarters. Cut each quarter in half, then cut each eighth into four bars.