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Alright, these Copycat BYU Mint Brownies from Scratch were a long time overdue, but here we are and you’re just going to love them!! We even provide a brownies from scratch recipe!
So many Copycat BYU Mint Brownies from Scratch recipes called for an in the box mix, which we happy to love boxed brownies for some reason, but we know that many of you are looking for a brownies from scratch recipe so our copycat BYU mint brownies from Scratch can be made with the box or homemade!
Can Mint Brownies Be Frozen?
They can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Wrap well in plastic wrap and foil and freeze.
Most chocolate mint brownies recipes make a really thick and cake-like brownie, which is totally fine, but Cade and I tend to like a more thin and fudgey brownie like Ina Garten’s Outrageous Brownies. Look at that shiny top!! You can use that recipe for the base if you’d like, or this one has more common household ingredients.
Copycat BYU Mint Brownies From Scratch
Last fall we were working in our front yard when two missionaries from our church came wandering up, lost, cold, and afraid.
Haha, just kidding, they weren’t at all, but they did ask if they could help with our yard work, to which I quickly said, oh no we are totally good! And Cade said, yeah, we would love it!
Typical.
I always feel bad making someone help us with something that we don’t REALLY need help with, but it turned out it was all meant to be.
Cade asked the missionaries if they could go next door with him and help our neighbor who is battling hard against cancer so not only did they get in extra service, but later they came to our house to invite us to find more opportunities to serve and since that’s something we really push in our family we were all for it. In fact, it’s what led to that huge food drive we pulled off. Remember our post on Feed the Hungry Ideas? All because those missionaries had a great idea and helped us pull it off.
Anyway, Elder Bratt has the same birthday as Cade and his mom, Nancy introduced us to this copycat BYU Mint Brownies from Scratch recipe. She originally got it from her roommate at BYU, Anne. I think I need to meet both ladies. You know how you just get people’s hearts sometimes? I totally get Nancy’s. I can seriously feel what a kind and humble lady she is.
That’s kind of my favorite thing.
Do Brownies Need To Be Kept In the Refrigerator?
Brownies do not need to be stored in the refrigerator.
Wrap them well or put them in an airtight container.
They will keep for up to 1 week at room temperature.
How to Make Mint Brownies From Scratch
Alright, let’s get to business and talk about how to make mint brownies from scratch. There are a lot of opinions on chocolate or cocoa powder in brownies but we found that for an easy homemade brownies recipe cocoa powder is the best choice. Mixing it with melted butter will heat up the cocoa and just like warming any spices in a pan it will bring out more flavor.
Mix your eggs really well into the batter. This isn’t a quick bread or muffin recipe so you aren’t going to ruin the texture by mixing, but under-mixing the eggs will leave you with a dull topping.
The rest is just dump, stir and bake!
Mint Frosting
If you’re using our brownie recipe, and you’ll notice in the picture that I TOTALLY forgot to half the recipe for the frosting, but our recipe is for half the frosting so don’t panic!
Mint frosting is made by simply combining butter, powdered sugar, milk, mint extract and food coloring. It’s easy and totally perfect for chocolate brownies.
Chocolate Ganache
Most ganache recipes use cream, but this is how to make chocolate ganache without cream and you only need two ingredients; butter and chocolate.
To make chocolate ganache, gently warm butter and chocolate chips together in a saucepan over medium heat. You can also use a microwave safe bowl and melt in 20 second increments.
BUT if you get an oily, wet looking mixture it means the ganache has split. To recover your ganache, warm a little milk and add it a splash at a time and whisk again and again and you should recover your ganache to it’s silkiness.
Copycat BYU Mint Brownies from Scratch
Copycat BYU Mint Brownies from Scratch
Ingredients
Brownies
- 1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter
- 1 Cup White Sugar
- 2 Large Eggs
- 3/4 teaspoon Vanilla
- 1/3 Cup Cocoa Powder
- 1/2 Cup Flour
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
Frosting
- 1/2 Cup Butter, softened
- 3/4- 1 Cup Powdered Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Milk
- 1/2 teaspoon Mint Extract
- 5 Drops Green Food Coloring
Chocolate Ganache
- 12 Ounce Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
- 1/2 Cup Butter, melted together in microwave
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour an 8-inch square pan.
- In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, eggs, and vanilla.1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter, 1 Cup White Sugar, 2 Large Eggs, 3/4 teaspoon Vanilla
- Beat in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup flour, salt, and baking powder. Spread batter into prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely.1/3 Cup Cocoa Powder, 1/2 Cup Flour, 1/4 teaspoon Salt, 1/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
- In a large bowl, beat the butter until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, milk, extract and food color and beat until smooth. Frost the cooled brownies.1/2 Cup Butter, 3/4- 1 Cup Powdered Sugar, 1 Tablespoon Milk, 1/2 teaspoon Mint Extract, 5 Drops Green Food Coloring
- In a saucepan or microwave safe bowl, melt the butter and chocolate chips until smooth and quickly pour over the brownies, spreading evenly with a knife. Chill until set.12 Ounce Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips, 1/2 Cup Butter
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Chocolate Lovers Blender Fudge Brownies
Yes, you can make brownies in a blender!
These did NOT turn out for me. The mint layer was thin, as in not as much frosting as the picture. Then, when I added the ganache layer, it caused the mint layer to melt and separate. They were a buttery chocolately mess, and unfortunately, I made two pans worth and wasted a lot of ingredients! I’m so sad. These were going to be for a party to celebrate a friend getting accepted to BYU.
Hi Danielle! I’m so sorry for the frustration! It sounds like something was probably measured incorrectly. The mint frosting layer should be quite thick and it sounds like your ganache was way too hot when you add it to the top. It should just be warm enough so that the chocolate is melted and smooth. Also, did you use an 8×8 square pan? I’m sorry they didn’t turn out as expected!
I’ve made these a few times for family get togethers, and wanted to share that these are the best, most decadent, perfectly fudgy, minty brownies. The best I’ve ever had! Even my husband loved them, and he’s not a sweets guy. Thank you for sharing these.
Yay Billie!! Thank you so much for the feedback and for taking time to leave a comment! So glad you love these as much as we do!
The base was dry and top layer is super rich. I don’t think I’d make these again.
Thank you for the feedback Autumn!
BYU= BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY ?? Just curious.
Hi Krista! Yes! Sorry…it’s just a few miles down the road so I forget it’s not known all over the place. They are known for their mint brownies around here.
Next time I will make the ganache with cream and use 8 oz of chocolate instead of 12. But they were yummy!
Thank you for the feedback Shirley!
Delicious. Didn’t have mint extract, used melted mint chips instead. Perfect for 1-1.5″ squares for a dessert table. Rich, decadent.
Nice improvising! So glad you enjoyed them!
The mint and ganache layers were way too rich and heavy with a whole cube of butter in each layer! We’ll end up scraping off those layers and eating the brownies by themselves. I suggest people tweak with half the butter, increase the powdered sugar and milk in the mint layer.
I also suggest using cream like most ganache recipes use. I think this was an honest attempt but way too rich with two whole cubes of butter in each of the top layers.
You wrote about mixing cocoa with melted butter, but there is no butter indicated in the brownie portion of the recipe.
Oh, thank you! It’s corrected!
These are decadent and rich, always a hit. Have made them several times over the years.
I make sure to chill them well after frosting and pop them right back into the fridge after topping with chocolate so it doesn’t melt (I let my chocolate cool a bit and use cream rather than butter to give a smoother rather than firmer chocolate layer.) Be fast!
I serve them in 1 1/2 or 2 inch squares, perfect for bite sized brownies, and less messy to eat. I cut them with a warm knife, chill again for a few minutes, then serve.
Also good with raspberry flavor, or etc. rather than mint.
Hi Billie! Thank you so much for the feedback! These tips are great! And now I’m going to have to try raspberry! That sounds delicious!