Chocolate Mint Brownies

The first time I ever had chocolate mint brownies was at my friend's house, where she was hosting our book club. This was before I had kids, and before my baking days, 7 or 8 years ago, probably.  I thought they were amazing - a layer of brownies, a layer of delicious green mint frosting, and a layer of chocolate on the top.  I tried to make them myself one time, and it was a disaster - the warm melted chocolate melted the mint frosting and just turned into a swirly chocolate mint buttercream mess... still delicious, though.  Fast forward to present-day, when I was having my kids' grandparents over for their piano recital and dinner afterward.  I hadn't thought about the 3 layer mint brownies in years, but as I was deciding what to make for dessert, I remembered them, and realized I had all the ingredients already!

Now that I am an accomplished baker, I knew I had to do several things differently than I had on my first unsuccessful try.  First, I used my favorite homemade brownie recipe - not a box mix! - and then I cooled them completely before adding a homemade whipped peppermint buttercream, dyed pink because I make everything pink when it's up to me :).  Then, I refrigerated the frosted brownies to make sure the buttercream would be very cold and very hard, so it wouldn't melt.  While that was chilling, I made up chocolate ganache and let it cool to room temperature, to further combat melting, before spreading it over the brownies.  Back into the fridge, and it all set up beautifully.  I was overly proud of how they came out... just because of the previous failure!