You can’t celebrate Valentine’s Day without chocolate, right? (Well, I suppose you could if diamonds were given as a substitute.) In my home nothing says love like minty treats fresh from the oven… or the freezer (my daughter loves mint chocolate Drumsticks).
My 91-year-old grandmother is the reigning queen of mint in our family and the following recipe is one of her favorites. Unfortunately, my beloved grandma is very sick and this will likely be her last Valentine’s Day with us. Contrastingly, my 3-year-old just discovered the joys of mint at an ice cream social we attended last summer, so this will be her first Valentine’s Day indulging in this decadent dessert.
If you are looking for an easy chocolate treat to take to a Valentine’s Day party or into the office to share with co-workers this Love Day I would highly recommend these Chocolate Mint Squares. Not only do they marry the zing of mint with sweet, rich chocolate but the green icing and chocolate drizzle topping adds a festive touch to any dessert table. It offsets all the other red treats that typically line a Valentine’s Day buffet and you could easily drizzle the chocolate topping in the shape of a heart and pipe red store bought icing around the edges.
CHOCOLATE MINT SQUARES
Ingredients for the Cake:
2 (1-ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts
Ingredients for the Frosting:
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon cream
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
Green food coloring
Ingredients for the Drizzle:
2 (1-ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate
2 teaspoons butter
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a 9-inch square-baking pan.
To make cake: In a medium microwave-safe bowl or a saucepan, melt chocolate and butter. In a separate bowl, beat eggs and sugar; add to chocolate mixture. Stir in flour, salt and nuts; mix well. Pour in prepared pan and bake 15 to 20 minutes. Cool.
To make frosting: Cream butter and powdered sugar. Add cream, peppermint and a drop of food coloring. Spread over cooled cake; chill until firm.
To make drizzle: In microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate and butter. Drizzle over frosting and chill until firm.
To serve, cut into squares. Makes about 24 small squares or 12 large squares.
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