Grasshopper Brownies http://rebeccmeister.livejournal.com/357624.html Step the First: Make Thy Brownies Ingredients -4 ounces chocolate (I used Scharffen Berger's 70% cacao bittersweet chocolate; use other chocolates at your peril) -3/4 C butter (1.5 sticks; I prefer Organic Valley, but it's pricey) -2 C sugar (good old sugar...) -3 eggs -1 tsp. vanilla -1/2 C milk (I use Organic Valley Whole Milk--oh you can hear my arteries scream) -1 1/2 C flour (Unbleached white flour, to be precise) Method: Melt the chocolate and the butter together over a double boiler (or you can use your microwave, lazybones). Try not to eat it yet. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Still, resist the urge, but go ahead and dip a finger in, just to taste. Then stir in the vanilla, eggs, and milk. Stir it up nicely, and then add the flour, stirring to combine (but as usual, don't overmix the flour!). Bake in a greased 13x9-inch pan at 350 degrees F (or 325 if you are using a glass pan) for 30-35 minutes, until just done but not overdone. Allow to cool to room temperature. Step the Second: Make Thy Minty Layer of Goodness Ingredients -3/4 stick of butter or so, at room temperature -bunch of powdered sugar (oh, maybe 2 cups? I never measure) -some generous splashes of Creme de Menthe Method: Cream the butter and sugar together until you get bored of doing so. Then add in some Creme de Menthe to make things interesting again, until the frosting reaches a nice, creamy, soft consistency. Hey, you could even use this to frost some cupcakes should the fancy strike you. Apply a nice, fluffy layer to the brownie layer. Here's the key part: Put the whole business in the fridge for at least a couple of hours. You want it to be nice and cool before the finishing touch is put on top. You don't really need to cover it, but if it makes you feel better, go ahead. Step the Third: Elegant, Professional-looking Dark Chocolate Finish Ingredients -Some more dark chocolate (2-4 ounces or thereabouts) -Some more butter (another 3/4 stick or so) Here's the trick: you will want to melt together the butter and the chocolate so that it's of a nice, runny consistency, but not so runny that the chocolate layer stays soft when it has cooled on top of the grasshopper bars. Oh, and you'll need enough chocolate to cover the whole top, but I never measure that either so you'll have to guess as well. You'll see what I mean with a bit of practice. All you have to do is melt the chocolate and butter together until it's nice and runny. Then drizzle it over the top of the minty layer. While it's still warm, tilt the pan back and forth so that the chocolate runs a bit and forms a nice, even coating across the top of the bars. Then throw it back in the fridge for a little while for good measure. I think these are best served somewhere between refrigeration temperature and room temperature. But it seems like everyone has a different opinion on the matter.