These tasty Grinch Brownies are a festive twist on a mint Oreo brownie! I added tons of mint Oreos into a simple boxed brownie mix and then topped it with a minty white chocolate ganache, more Oreo cookies and some red chocolate candies. It’s the ultimate Christmas dessert recipe!
Table of Contents
Christmas Brownies Recipe
I know I am coming down to the wire here as far as Christmas treats go. I started a little late this year. You’d think I would be a better blogger and start preparing for Christmas back in July when far more prepared folks do. But ya know… I’m me.
And I have to say, the inspo for this brownies came from one of my kiddo’s best friends, Nate. Last weekend we went over to their house to take part in a fun “Bake-Off” tradition they have. All the kids have to come up with a recipe, bake it and present it to “the judges”. Anyhow, Nate wanted to make a kind of no-bake bar with Oreos, chocolate and mint extract. He didn’t follow a recipe choosing to create the bars all on his own.
Here’s a picture of my boys and their friends…
Unfortunately when Nate added the peppermint extract to his recipe, he was a little heavy-handed. And for those of you who have ever used peppermint extract, it can go from delicious to yikes in a matter of a few drops. Been there, done that.
Unfortunately, his bars were not the overall winner of the bake-off. BUT I will tell you…chocolate, Oreos, and mint definitely belong together, so I decided to riff on Nate’s idea and make some brownies!
How to Make Grinch Brownies
I started with a boxed brownie mix, prepared it according to the package directions and chopped up a TON of Mint Oreo Cookies into the batter…
I mean, how could this not be good?
Once I baked the brownies I let them cool…
And I prepared an easy white chocolate ganache, but added a small amount of peppermint extract and some green food coloring.
When the ganache was still warm I poured it onto the brownies…
And then chopped up more Oreo cookies and sprinkled them on top…
To make them extra festive I added some red chocolate candies.
At this point, I chilled the brownies to set up the ganache.
Then…
I ate 14.
Because holiday calories don’t count.
Thank Nate for the great recipe idea!
Print
Grinch Brownies
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 20 brownies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
These tasty Grinch Brownies are a festive twist on a mint Oreo brownie! I added tons of mint Oreos into a simple boxed brownie mix and then topped it with a minty white chocolate ganache, more Oreo cookies and some red chocolate candies. It’s the ultimate Christmas dessert recipe!
Ingredients
- 18.4 ounce brownie mix, prepared according to package directions
- 25 mint Oreo cookies, divided
- 2 cups white chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
- green food coloring
- red chocolate candies
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9×9 baking dish with foil and coat with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- Prepare the brownie mix according to the directions on the package. Coarsely chop up 16 Oreo cookies and fold them into the brownie batter. Spread that into the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the brownies are almost set in the center and a toothpick inserted 1- inch from the edge of the pan comes out clean. Place the pan on a wire rack and allow the brownies to cool.
- To prepare the ganache place a heat-safe bowl on top of a pot of simmering water. Place the white chocolate and heavy cream in the bowl and stir until melted. Remove the bowl from the heat and add in 1/4 teaspoon of peppermint extract and a few drop of green food coloring. Stir to combine. You can add more mint extract, up to 1/2 teaspoon if desired.
- Pour the ganache on top of the brownies.
- Immediately chop the remaining Oreo cookies and sprinkle these on top of the ganache. Sprinkle on the red candies.
- Chill the brownies, allowing the ganache to set for at least an hour before cutting the brownies into bars.
Notes
I use the “family size” brownie mix and bake it in a 9×9 pan instead of a 9×13, as I prefer a thicker brownie.
Those look delicious. I’m thinking of baking them in a 9×13″ pan. Do you think there will be enough ganache or should I make a 1.5x batch?
I would increase it, yes 🙂
These look delicious! I think your directions are out of order though as step 7 is describing the cooling of the ganache which would happen prior to pouring. 😉
Haha! So weird! I was writing so fast 🙂 I fixed the recipe!