Happy New Year to you! I hope 2012 has treated you well so far. One tradition that I love to do January 1st is to make New Year Resolutions. In years past, I would make 10 or so resolutions, but I’ve become wise in my old age, and decided that 5 was plenty. (Especially since I could never accomplish them all and felt like a failure.) Since I’ve been married, one resolution that was always on the list was to love my husband more, but since it become a “tradition” to put that on the list, I subsequently dropped it. I am going to share my resolutions with you because they (experts, maybe?) say if you tell people, then you have a good chance of accomplishing them. So, here are my 5 resolutions for 2012:
1. Not be afraid to try new things, like make a cake and decorate it with fondant.
2. Train for a 10k and be okay if I walk some of it.
3. Eat more vegetables, but not necessarily less sweets.
4. Get better at decorating sugar cookies.
5. Continue to grow as a writer, baker, and photographer. I am inspired by you every day! (Thanks for reading, commenting, and trying my recipes.)
I think they are completely doable.
In regards to resolution #3, I wanted to share with you this amazing fudgy brownie recipe. It’s one of those I-forgot-I-had-this-recipe recipe. The only reason I remembered this delicious treat was because I was at the grocery store a few weeks ago and saw a bag of chocolate chips that contained dark chocolate and mint–together. My world changed in that moment. I first thought of baking them into cookies, but fortunately, I remembered this brownie recipe and snagged a bag off the shelf. (I’m just kicking myself for not buying more than one!)
These are the chewy, soft, melt-in-your-mouth type of brownies. They take less than an hour to make and bake, so you have no excuse now to buy a mix. Have chips, don’t have chips, either way, you’ll love them. And trust me, your friends and family will thank you for these. Enjoy! xoxo
P.S. If you have any New Year’s Resolutions, I’d love to hear about them. :)
P.P.S. I’m posting this on Add a Pinch’s Mingle Monday. You should check out all the great ideas. I know you’ll be inspired!
Mint Chocolate Chip Brownies
4 (1 oz.) squares unsweetened chocolate squares
1 ½ sticks unsalted butter
2 c sugar
3 eggs
1 ¼ t vanilla
1 c flour
¼ t salt
2 c dark chocolate and mint chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×9-inch pan with cooking spray. In a double boiler, (or microwave at half power), melt the unsweetened chocolate squares and butter. Stir so that the butter is not separated from the chocolate. Let cool slightly.
Pour the chocolate and butter mixture into a large bowl. Add the sugar and mix gently until the sugar is dissolved. Add the eggs, mixing one at a time. (Make sure the mixture is cool, otherwise you will cook the eggs.) Stir in the vanilla and salt. Gently fold in the flour until there are no remaining traces. Mix in the chips.
Pour into the pan, spreading the batter evenly, and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick entered comes out with a few crumbs. Cool on a wire rack completely before cutting up into squares and serving.