Treat Yourself with Mint Brownie Ice Cream Dessert

This week you are in for a real treat with Mint Brownie Ice Cream Dessert.  This cool treat combines many of our favs, such as chocolate, mint, and ice cream.  However, we must be honest with you that this dessert had to overcome several obstacles in order to be shared on The Blind Pig Blog.  For starters, Craig and Blind Piglet #1 ate a portion of the Andes Mints before they made it to the top of the dessert as a garnish.  (You may notice that the mints sprinkled on top are a little sparse.) Then there was the problem of the quickly disappearing dessert.  Rhonda wasn’t sure if the dessert was evaporating in the freezer or if a band of gypsies had visited The Blind Pig Household and eaten the dessert over night.  We’ve been through a lot to bring you this recipe, but we shall overcome! 😉

To make this amazing disappearing dessert you will need a brownie mix, 1 package of Andes mints, vanilla ice cream and Brancamenta liqueur.  First mix the brownie mix as directed on the package, and add the Brancamenta into the batter. Then sprinkle chopped Andes mints into the batter and mix well. Next pour the brownie batter into a greased spring form pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes.  Make sure to check the center of the brownie with a wooden skewer to check that the brownie is done, before removing from the oven.  Let the brownie cool completely.

Remove ice cream from the freezer and soften for about 20 minutes.  Spoon ice cream over brownie and spread evenly.  Sprinkle with remaining chopped mints for garnish. Place in the freezer for about 3 hours or until firm.

When ready to serve, let dessert stand at room temperature for a few minutes.  Remove sides of spring form pan.  Cut into slices and serve. Don’t blink, because this dessert will be gone before you know it!

If you are viewing this post via email, join us at www.theblindpig.blog for a full printable recipe of Mint Brownie Ice Cream Dessert.

The Blind Pig Household loved this dessert!  They even placed Mint Brownie Ice Cream Dessert as a very close second to the Caffe’ Borghetti Peanut Butter Ice Cream Fudge Pie, which is an enviable  compliment to be bestowed on any dessert.  As we were enjoying this dessert, we thought of many delicious variations that can be made with this recipe.  Want a chocolate caramel dessert?  Add a layer of caramel syrup between the brownie and ice cream layer. You could add a layer of fudge topping or sprinkles on top.  Change the ice cream flavor for a fun variation.  Don’t be surprised if you see a version of this recipe on The Blind Pig Blog again.

Enjoy your weekend and let us know if you made Mint Brownie Ice Cream Dessert, we’d love to hear what you think!

 

 

Menty Brownies

 During this time of COVID, comfort foods are making a come back, and what is more comforting than a pan of brownies right from the oven?  Brownies are an easy versatile goody to bake.  You can make them from scratch or make them from a box.  No matter how you mix these treats up, they are easy crowd-pleasers for a variety of occasions.

We always keep a couple boxes of brownie mix on hand, because the piglets wander into the kitchen a few times a month and decide to mix  up a batch.  This week we are sharing a fun and incredibly easy Blind Pig Twist on your favorite brownie recipe.

Our version of this American classic is made with a hint of Brancamenta Liqueur and some Andes Mints layered in the middle.  The minty goodness enhances the flavor of the chocolate and is a tantalizing variation on the traditional chocolate brownie.

As we said above, start with your favorite brownie recipe.  To enhance the mint flavor of the brownie add 1/2 ounce of Brancamenta Liqueur to the batter when mixing.

Prepare your baking pan as usual with cooking spray.  Pour 1/2 of the batter into the bottom of the pan.

Place a layer of Andes mints evenly over the bottom layer of batter.

Top off with the remaining batter.  Bake as directed.

After  removing the brownies from the oven, allow the brownies to cool.  Cut into small squares and serve.

As you can see in our photos, there is a small sliver of the Andes mint that can be viewed from the side of the brownie.

These brownies have the right amount of mint flavor — not too much not too little.  One word of warning to you. These did not last long at The Blind Pig household.  If you do not intend to share these with others, DO NOT make them when others are present!

What do you think?  Are you going to mix up a batch of Menty Brownies today?

 

The Blind Pig Holiday Goody Basket Ideas

Blind Pig Friends!  Let us apologize for our recent absence.  We made a mad dash trip to New York to visit Piglet #1 last weekend.  We thought we would have time to get things together to send out a post this past week, but as you noticed– it never happened!  We will fill you in on our New York trip later.  Today you are getting the low down on some super Christmas baking treats!

One of  The Blind Pig’s Family favorite holiday traditions is baking and putting together our holiday goody baskets for friends and family.  It is a big event that takes days of baking and decorating to pull together. Whether you are baking for an army of baskets to be delivered to family and friends or just want one special treat to take to Grandma’s house on Christmas day, The Blind Pig Blog has you covered with lots of special treats.  Who needs sugarplums dancing in your head, when you can try one of The Blind Pig’s confections instead?

Here are our ideas that work well in a basket or for a special gift of sweetness and love.

Borghetti  Brownie Caramel Bites

We shared this delicious easy recipe with you in the fall.  Even if you are not a pro baker, you can easily pull this recipe off without a hitch!

Golden Mint Crinkles

This gem of a recipe was our number one post for 2018 and when you taste these, you will see why!  This recipe is a little time intensive, so make sure you have a few hours of time blocked out to pull this off.

Love You More Cookies

This recipe was shared with you in our Valentine post last February.  However, we have been using this for our Christmas cookies for years.  You get excellent sugar cookies for decorating everytime. Don’t forget the Irish cream in the recipe, it gives the cookies a yummy hint of chocolate.

Menta Truffles

These easy to make truffles are so rich and yummy. Your friends and family will think you purchased them from an expensive chocolatier!

Salted Whiskey Caramel Corn

This treat is great around Halloween, but we make again around the holidays.  It is great for placing in a decorative bag and handing out as a special gift.

Spiked Pecan Bars

We shared this with you right before Thanksgiving.  It would make a wonderful addition to a dessert plate for guests to nibble on after a big holiday meal.

Spirited  Chocolate Orange Bars

These versatile bars are great any time of the year.  These would work well on a dessert plate passed around for guests to pick and choose.  The flavor of chocolate paired with a hint of zesty citrus makes the dessert feel light and refreshing.

Thin Mentas

These cookies are time intensive, but a wonderful combination of mint and chocolate for any holiday celebration.

Yum Rum Balls

Our rum balls are easy to make and are an eye catching addition to any goody basket.

Espresso Fudge

If your family likes coffee and chocolate, then this easy recipe is a must to try for your holiday giving.

Whiskey Spiced Pecans

We shared this recipe with you this fall.  We made the recipe again and placed the nuts in decorative baggies to share with our goody boxes.

Do you have your holiday baking complete?  What treats do you usually make for the holidays?  We would love to hear about your ideas and preferences!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of our Blind Pig Friends!  We wish you safe travels and the happiest of Christmas memories.

 

 

 

Borghetti Brownie Caramel Bites

Hey friends!  Did you remember to change your clock this weekend?  We are always amazed to find how refreshed we feel after that extra hour of sleep.  Too bad every weekend didn’t allow us an extra hour.

This week we are sharing our sweet Borghetti Brownie Caramel Bites with you.  We have shared Cafe’ Borghetti with you in other recipes, such as Easy Espresso Cake, Espresso Ice Cream Treats, Espresso Fudge, Borghetti Mochaccino, and Borghetti Coke Float.  You know that it is super easy to add to any dessert recipe and it compliments chocolate nicely.  This week we added a little espresso flavor to our brownie bite recipe to bring out the rich taste of the chocolate and give the bite a flavor boost!

Like many of our recipes, this recipe is super easy.  You need your favorite brownie mix or recipe.  We used a Betty Crocker brownie mix.  You also need a bag of about 35 Rolo candies, Cafe’ Borghetti Espresso Liqueur, chocolate almond bark and some sea salt.

Mix the brownies as directed with an additional  ounce of Cafe’ Borghetti Espresso Liqueur.  Bake as directed, but pull the brownies out of the oven when slightly gooey in the middle.  Allow brownies to cool.  Cut the brownies into 2 inch squares.  Leave the crust around the edge of the pan.  You don’t need that part.

Remember our trick for working with dough in your hands?  We shared this trick with you in past posts, like Golden Mint Crinkles.  Take a square brownie in your hand sprayed with cooking spray and gently flatten the brownie.  Place an unwrapped Rolo in the middle of the brownie and form the brownie around the Rolo.  Place on a cookie sheet and refrigerate for one hour.

Melt chocolate almond bark in the microwave using short 30 second spurts stirring in between until the almond bark is smooth and creamy. Dip brownie bites in chocolate until well coated.  Drain excess chocolate and place on parchment paper.  Sprinkle lightly with sea salt prior to chocolate cooling and hardening.  Let brownie bites cool for about 30 minutes and then serve.

If you are viewing this post via email, visit us at www.theblindpig.blog for a printable version of the complete recipe for Borghetti Brownie Caramel Bites.

This treat brings you the best of several flavor combinations.  You get the rich taste of chocolate and espresso with a yummy surprise of caramel in the middle.  The sea salt does its part to enhance all of the flavors with a little salty-sweet combo.  Yummo!  Make this treat for a football tail gate, a special treat after Thanksgiving dinner or just because you are craving something salty and sweet.

 

Bourbon Toffee Cups

We are optimistically looking toward warming weather and Spring.  To get you in the mood for warmer weather, we are featuring a delicious season transitional treat: Bourbon Toffee Cups. We first found this easy recipe years ago on Southern Living Magazine. We twisted it up and bit to make it our own.  We hope it satisfies your taste buds as much as it did ours.

To make this yummy dessert you start with a basic brownie mix.  Mix the brownie mix as usual, and then add in two mashed bananas.  Bake according to package directions.

While the brownies are baking, stir together sugar, corn syrup, butter, salt, and heavy cream in a small saucepan.  Cook over low heat stirring often.  We cooked ours for about 45 minutes. You can see how the color began to change the longer we cooked the mixture.  As the color starts to turn, add bourbon to pudding mixture.

As the color changes to amber, stir in 1 cup of heavy cream and increase the heat to medium.  Cook stirring constantly for about 5 minutes.  The mixture will begin to thicken.  Remove from heat and cool.

Cut the cooled brownies in small cubes.  Layer brownies, toffee pudding  in small jars or dessert bowls.

Beat remaining heavy cream with 1/4 cup of powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of bourbon in a bowl that has been chilled in a freezer for 30 minutes.  Beat with an electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form.

Spoon over cups of brownies and pudding.  Sprinkle with Heath or toffee bits.

If you are viewing this post via email, visit us at http://www.theblindpig.blog for a complete downloadable recipe.

Bourbon Toffee Cups are so sweet and savory.  It is best to serve them in small portions.  We used small preserve jars and small dessert cups for ours.  It was just the right amount!

The extra cooled sauce can be saved as a topping for ice cream later.  (You know we love an excuse to eat ice cream!)

Try this easy, delicious dessert this week.  You won’t be disappointed that you did!

Posts you might have missed.

When Life Gives You Roses

You Say Tomato… We Say Bloody Mary

Rosa Spritz

Roasted Breckenridge Cherries

Love You More Cookies

 

        

Twisted Mississippi Mud Brownies

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Have you ever had one of those weeks when things should be very easy, but nothing seems to come together?  This week has been a comedy of errors trying to get this post out to you.  For one thing, Rhonda’s computer wifi card went bust, or that is what we think happened.  If you ever think you don’t need the internet, try going without it for awhile.  But we problem solved and prevailed.  Our family motto is, “There is a workaround for everything!” We are happy to share a very twisted recipe with you:  Twisted Mississippi Mud Brownies.

When Rhonda was young, her mother, (aka-Grandma Ruth) always made the most delicious Mississippi Mud Brownies to take to picnics and special occasions at church.  Who doesn’t love all of that chocolately goodness topped off with marshmallows and more chocolate, right?  We found this recipe in Southern Living Magazine’s October 2012 issue originally, but we Blind Pigged it up a little.  We think this week’s treat, just might have perfected the Mississippi Brownie.

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This recipe comes in three basic parts.  You have the brownie base, then a layer of peanut butter yum.  Topped with another layer of brownie and perfected with a layer of marshmallows, chocolate chips, peanuts, and chocolate frosting.  Oh yea!

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What do you need?  Besides an enormous sweet tooth and an appetite for chocolate and peanut butter, you need several ingredients that may already be in your kitchen, like unsweetened chocolate baking squares, butter, granulated sugar, eggs, all-purpose flour, vanilla, peanut butter, light brown sugar, baking powder, mini marshmallows, Kerrygold Irish Cream, mini chocolate chips, lightly salted peanuts, and powdered sugar.  Remember, if you are viewing this post in your email, you can visit www.theblindpig.blog to get a downloadable and printable complete recipe.

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Your first step will be to melt the baking chocolate.  We melted it slowly in a microwaveable bowl in the microwave using short bursts of cooking time.  Once the chocolate is melted, add in 2 ounces of Kerrygold Irish Cream and stir together well. Set aside.

Next beat together softened butter and 2 cups of granulated sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer.  Add eggs one at a time.  Then add in melted chocolate mixture beating until just blended.  Add in one cup of flour and stir in vanilla.  Spread half of the batter in a 13 x 9 inch pan that was sprayed with baking spray.

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Next you will make the peanut butter mixture.  Beat the peanut butter, brown sugar and 1/3 cup of softened butter with 1/2 cup granulated sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.  Add 2 eggs one at a time.  Stir together baking powder and remaining flour.  Add flour mixture to peanut butter mixture on low speed until blended.

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Spoon the peanut butter mixture over the bottom layer of brownie mixture.  Top with the remaining brownie mixture and swirl together with a knife.

Bake the brownies at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes.

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While brownies are baking make the frosting.  Place 1/4 cup of butter, 3 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa and 3 tablespoons of Kerrygold Irish Cream into a small sauce pan.  Turn heat to medium and continue to stir constantly until mixture thickens.  Remove from heat and stir in 2 cups of powdered sugar and 1/2 tsp. of vanilla extract.  You may need to reheat the frosting some when you are ready to drizzle it over the brownies.

Insert wooden pick in the center to check for only a few moist crumbs.  Remove from the oven.

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Sprinkle with marshmallows, peanuts, mini-chocolate chips, and drizzle with frosting.  Let cool completely before cutting.  Then enjoy!

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So what do you think?  Are you ready for a Mississippi-sized sugar rush?