The holidays have come and gone, but you’re still stuck with chocolates, cookies and candy canes right? Well put those treats to work! I love to use up my leftover goodies into something new and exciting which is how I came up with the idea behind these Peppermint Mocha Brownies! Your favorite winter time beverage can now be enjoyed in dessert form. There’s still time to indulge before starting your “new year, new you” workout and diet schedule right? So let’s make some brownies!!
These brownies are super quick and easy to throw together, all you need is one Mixing Bowl, your measuring cups, and an 8×8 baking pan!
To make the brownies you will start by mixing together your instant coffee and water. You want to make sure this has plenty of time to dissolve so mix, mix, mix, until is is all one homogeneous liquid then set it aside for later. Next you’ll be creaming together your sugars and melted butter. You want to whisk these together until they are fully combined and pale yellow. Then you want to whisk in your eggs. The eggs are the only ingredient that will give the brownies any rise so it is important to whisk these in really well and whip as much air into them as possible. Your arm might get a little sore with this step! After that, you will mix in your dry ingredients and instant coffee mix. Fold the dry into the wet until they are just combined. Grease your 8×8 baking pan and pour in the mixture.
Then comes the fun part. Time to get some holiday aggression out! Too much politics over Christmas dinner? Smash some candy canes! Your parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents asking about when you’re going to start having kids? Smash some candy canes! Having an existential crisis because where did the last two years of your life go and how is it almost 2022 already??? Smash some gosh dang candy canes!!!! Unwrap your canes, toss them in a ziplock or reusable bag and go to town on them with a rolling pin or something bat-like until they are pulverized to your liking.
Top your brownie batter with your smashed candy canes (as much or as little as you’d like) and bake according to the recipe.
I also topped mine with an extra sprinkle of candy cane pieces as soon as it came out of the oven. Let your brownies cool (I know that’s the hard part) for about 30 minutes to an hour. Cut into the desired sized pieces and voila! Your brownies are ready to enjoy.
Peppermint Mocha Brownies
Ingredients
- 3 Eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup butter melted
- ½ cup oil canola or grapeseed
- 1¼ cup cocoa powder
- ½ cup flour
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ⅛ tsp peppermint extract
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp instant coffee
- 2 oz water
- 2-3 candy canes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F
- Mix together the instant coffee and 2 oz of water in a bowl or cup. Set aside.
- In a bowl, whisk together the sugars, butter, and oil until fully combined and pale yellow.
- Add in the eggs one at a time whisking fully between each one. You want to whip as much air into the eggs at this stage as possible.
- Add in the espresso powder mixture, vanilla and peppermint extracts. Stir to combine.
- Mix in the dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder and salt. Mix until everything is just combined.
- Grease an 8×8 baking pan with butter or cooking spray and pour the batter into your greased pan.
- Crush your candy canes by placing them, unwrapped, in a ziplock bag and smack them with your rolling pin until they are crushed to your liking. Top your batter with the crushed pieces. Use as much or as little as you would like.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes until the brownies are just set. You don't want to overcook them.
- Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting into your desired size. Enjoy!
*This post contains affiliate links. If you click and purchase, I make a small commission!*
