Hershey's Mint Brownies

Every year my mom and I made dozens upon dozens of Christmas cookies to give away to our family and friends. It takes us almost 3 days to make them all (with the procurement of a second kitchen mixer we are shooting for two days this year....) and it is a great tradition. We are trying to find a new cookie this year, and after 15 emails, I am starving and craving these classics. Who DOESN'T love mint and chocolate?? These aren't one of my grandma's originals, but are a favorite in my household. We have to make my dad his own mini-batch so he doesn't eat the ones for everyone else!

Yummmmm
(No these aren't ours (Google), but I promise I will take a picture of ours this year!)

For the brownies:

1 cup All-Purpose flour
1/2 cup soft butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 can (16 oz) Hershey’s syrup
1 cup sugar

For the mint filling:

2 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 cup soft butter
1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon mint extract
Green food coloring

For the chocolate topping:

1 10 oz package mint chocolate chips (available at Wegman's)
9 tablespoons butter

Directions: (3 steps: brownies, filling, topping)

1. Brownies:
- Heat oven to 350 and line glass pyrex with parchment paper OVER THE EDGES (we have been doing this for 7 years now, trust me on this one).
-Mix brownie ingredients above in large bowl until smooth. Pour into pan and bake for 30 minutes. You will know when they are done because the edges will round up and the center will look spongey. Cool completely (aka cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours).

2. Mint Filling: (NO CREME de MINT!!)
-Mix mint filling ingredients above into bowl until creamy. Add LOTS of green food coloring (color fades daily in fridge).
-Carefully spread over brownies evenly. Cover and refrigerate for another 1-2 hours.

3. Chocolate Topping (this takes skill and patience):
-Melt chocolate chips and butter in a double-boiler sauce pan. Pour over brownies and evenly distribute. The key: The chocolate can't be too hot or too cold. Too hot and it will start melting the mint cream. Too cold and it won't spread. Good luck--I leave this up to my mom. Cover and cool again.

Once the brownies are completely cooled, dig in! We usually cut them into 1 inch by 1 inch mini squares with a really sharp paring knife. Any other kind will crack the chocolate topping. (Actually we got one from Pampered Chef specifically for these brownies!) Please your brownies in a mini-cupcake liner for cute presentation!

Also, if you have one of those pyrex dishes with a rubber lid, definitely use it. With all the covering and refrigerating, the lid comes in SUPER handy!

You should freeze these if you don't plan on eating/giving them away within 4 days....don't worry they taste even better cold!

Enjoy y'all!