9 Sweets for Santa: Peppermint Brownies with Cream Cheese Frosting
PIN IT!9 days until Christmas!! Wahoo! Although, I should probably stop “woahooing” and start shopping since I only have one gift purchased. I do this to myself every year though. Wait until 3 days before Christmas, brave the insanity that is any shopping mall, get run over by carts and strollers and fight with crazed soccer moms over the scarf/mitten sale basket at Macy’s. After a day of that, the first thing I want is a nice glass of spiced eggnog. After that has been daintly sipped [aka chugged], I reach for a decadent piece of chocolate _____. Fill in the blank with your go-to dessert item. Like I mentioned yesterday, chocolate is my stress reducer. Well, to further celebrate the coming of Christmas, I wanted to mix the dynamic duo of chocolate and peppermint again, just in a different way. These peppermint brownies are rich and full of festive flavor. I decided to whip up a cream cheese frosting to coat them and sprinkle crushed candy canes for appearance. If you want more texture or chocolate to your brownie, add 1/2 cup of chocolate chips!
Peppermint Brownies with Cream Cheese Frosting
What You’ll Need:
- 1 cup of flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1/4 cup buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large egg whites
- 1 large egg
- Cooking spray
How To Make Them:
- Preheat oven for 350 degrees.
- Combine flour, cocoa, and salt in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk.
- Combine brown sugar, oil, buttermilk, vanilla, 2 egg whites, and 1 egg in a large bowl; beat with a mixer or wooden spoon until well blended.
- Add flour mixture to brown sugar mixture; beat until blended.
- Pour batter into an 8 by 13 inch pan.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Prick batter with a knife and if it comes out clean, it’s done. Let completely cool.
What You’ll Need for the Frosting:
- 1 (8-ounce) package fat free cream cheese, soft
- 3 tablespoons of butter, soft
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
How to Make It:
- Mix butter, sugar and cream cheese together with an electric mixer or wooden spoon. Mix until creamy.
- Add vanilla to mixture. Mix until smooth.
- Once brownies are completely cool, frost. Sprinkle with crushed candy canes and enjoy!
Nutritional Information per brownie: 220 calories, 8.5 grams of fat, 3 grams of protein and 2 grams of fiber.
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