Peppermint Brownies

I get daily recipe e-mails from the magazine RealSimple.  Usually, I just delete them because I already have a ton of recipes I need to try.  However, this one sparked my interest because I love all things peppermint and it seemed ridiculously easy.

I suppose that you could make your own brownie mix from scratch for this.  I had limited time to get these done for a family party (along with the cupcakes I will write about next and a batch of chili), so I just followed the recipe with one change.  Since it was going to be for a large gathering, I used two boxes of brownie mix (one for each layer). 



I made the first box of brownie mix and poured it into a greased cake pan (9x13).  Then I unwrapped an entire bag of York Peppermint Patties, spread them out on top of the batter, and prepared the last box.  This layer was spread over the patties.  It was challenging to cover the candy with the batter I had, so there were some shallow sections.  Then, I placed them in the preheated oven and baked according to the directions.

They worried me when I checked on them with about 5 minutes left in the bake time because the patties in the corners had exploded a little.  Most of them shrank back down as the brownies cooled.  For presentation purposes, I wanted to cut the brownies out a place on a platter.  To do this, I ran a sharp knife around the edges and inverted the pan onto a large cutting board.  It took a few good pounds to get the brownies out.  I then flipped the slab over and cut about 35 squares. 

If I were to make these again, and I'm sure I will because they are incredibly easy, I would double the number of patties used to ensure a thick layer of peppermint.  Looking back, I should have done this since I doubled the amount of brownie batter used. 

Even with all that, these were a huge hit at the family party.  My dad ate some with vanilla ice cream and highly recommends it.