Peppermint Patty Brownie Cupcakes

What do you do with a bunch of peppermint patties? I had them sitting in my fridge (yes, my fridge. It’s too hot in Arizona to keep them in the cupboard during the summer!) for a couple of weeks, waiting to be baked into something delicious. Kramer and I had some friends over for dinner, and as I was browsing through recipes on the Internet, I found these brownies from The Busty Baker. She made a really elaborate dessert with mint frosting and chocolate ganache, but I didn’t have time for all that. I loved the idea of making brownie cupcakes, though, so I figured, hey, why can’t I just forgo all the extras and just make the brownies with the patties? That’s exactly what I did and they were delicious (even though I’d love to try them again some time with all of the “fixings”). The brownies were absolutely PERFECT. They were light and moist but still, somehow, dense and very rich. The tops were perfectly cracked, which I was really happy with because they were so pretty. The patties melt a tiny bit when baked, and while the photos of them cut open look like there’s a giant hole in the middle, it doesn’t seem that way when you’re actually eating the brownie and I think slicing through with my very dull knife made them look strange. Either way, these are going in my “make again” box. I know you’ll find some patties to make these with soon!

Gather up your ingredients.

Melt the butter and the chocolate in a small sauce pan.

Make sure you continue to stir it while it melts so the chocolate doesn’t burn.

Combine the sugar and salt.

Beat in the melted butter and chocolate until combined.

Beat in the eggs one at a time, then beat in the flour and cocoa powder.

Place one tablespoon of batter in each muffin cup.

Then press one peppermint patty into each cup (don’t press too hard, though).

And fill the rest of the cup with another 1 1/2 – 2 tablespoons of batter. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes, until the tops are set.

Allow to cool completely before removing.

A few of mine overflowed a bit (the one in front and then one in the back) but I just took a spoon and kind of put them back together and as they cooled you’d never know the difference!

Unwrap and enjoy!

Peppermint Patty Brownie Cupcakes
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from The Busty Baker

8 ounces semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used semi-sweet)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, at room temperature
1 cup white granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder, sifted
12 small (1 ½-inch) chocolate-covered peppermint patties, such as York Peppermint Patties (I used the “fun size” ones)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners (I used tinfoil liners to look more like the wrappers of the patties). Place the chopped chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over (not in) a pan of simmering water (or do what I did and set a small sauce pan directly on the stove with the chocolate and butter in it, stirring often to not burn anything). Stir occasionally just until melted, 4 to 5 minutes.

2. Remove the bowl or the pan from the heat. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sugar and salt and then pour in the chocolate mixture. Beat in the eggs one at a time to combine. Gently beat in the flour and cocoa until just smooth (do not overmix!).

3. Spoon 1 heaping tablespoon of batter into each lined cup. Place one peppermint patty on top, gently pressing into batter. Top with 2 tablespoons (I only had enough for about 1 1/2 tablespoons or less to top each, but it still turned out perfect) batter, covering the patty completely.

4. Bake, rotating tin halfway through, until a cake tester inserted halfway in centers (above mint patty) comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached, about 35 minutes. Transfer tin to a wire rack to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored up to 3 days at room temperature in airtight containers. Makes 12 cupcakes.

Tagged as: brownies, cake, chocolate, cupcakes, dessert, how-to, mint, peppermint, sweet, York Peppermint Patty