St. Patty's Day Minty Brownies

For this week's dessert for the Dykema household, I found this scrumptious version of minty brownies! Mr. D and I are HUGE fans of anything mint (including Thin Mints! - which we have so far been able to avoid bringing into the house). In celebration of that huge feat, I decided this was pretty much close to being like Thin Mints...just in the brownie form! With a little green food dye, it was perfect for tomorrow's lucky holiday!

Shopping List

1 box of chocolate cake mix

4 eggs

1 stick melted butter

1 box of powdered sugar (about 4 cups)

8 oz package of cream cheese, softened
2 teaspoons peppermint extract
green food coloring
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease (I use Pam) one 9x13 inch pan.  Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine cake mix, 2 eggs and melted butter.  Spread in bottom of pan to form your "crust" layer.

In a second bowl, beat with an electric mixer, powdered sugar, 2 more eggs and cream cheese until smooth.   Beat in your extract and 2 or 3 drops of food coloring.  Finally, stir in your chocolate chips.

 Spread cream cheese mixture on top of crust mixture.

Bake 35-40 minutes until edges are brown and center set (it will still be slightly wobbly in the middle).

Cool on counter 30 minutes, then refrigerate 2 hours up to 2 days.

Slice into bars and serve.

I'm telling you...you will kiss me...which is okay every though I'm not Irish.

Chocolate Chip Dip

I stumbled on this dip by pure accident and am glad I did! Need something sweet? Need something that tastes pretty much like Chocolate Chip Cheesecake? Then here you go! Try this!

Ingredients

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup confectioners' sugar (powdered sugar)

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup (6 ounces) mini semisweet chocolate chips

Graham Crackers or Graham Cracker sticks

 

In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugars and vanilla; beat until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips. Serve with graham cracker sticks. YIELD: 2 cups

 

You guys, this is just pure AMAZING! Kids love it, adults love it! The only hard part is knowing when to stop eating it.  Enjoy!