Chocolate in the Garden & Minty Chocolate Brownies
We’re celebrating World Chocolate Day today with a bouquet of chocolate cosmos and a big pile of chocolate mint harvested from the garden!
While chocolate cosmos flowers aren’t edible, their reddish-brown velvety petals are definitely a treat for the senses otherwise, with a scent of dark chocolate (and sometimes a hint of vanilla) as they bloom in summer through fall.
Native to Mexico, they’re perennials that grow best in full sun and well-drained soil. Chocolate cosmos starter plants can sometimes be hard to find, but once they’re planted, they’ll come back each year and will attract pollinators, too. They’re beautiful to have out in the garden, and they also make great cut flowers.
Chocolate mint, on the other hand, is definitely edible. Grow it in well-drained soil as part of your herb garden. Like other plants in the mint family, it’ll spread rapidly, so it’s best grown in containers or in a separate garden bed with barriers if you need to keep it confined.
With a strong, sweet scent (not unlike Girl Scout Thin Mint cookie!), chocolate mint can be used to add flavor to teas, coffees, cocktails, and lemonades. It also adds a lovely dimension to lots of recipes, whether it’s used as a garnish or to flavor desserts like cakes, cookies, whipped cream, or ice cream.
We’re fans of adding it to super-rich brownies, and the Alice Medrich cocoa brownie recipe from her cookbook Bittersweet (Artisan, 2003) is an absolute classic that can’t be beat.
Here’s our adaptation, with a few slight tweaks to deepen the intensity of the chocolate and infuse a bit of the chocolate mint flavor.
Extra-Rich Minty Cocoa Brownies
Adapted from Alice Medrich’s recipe
Ingredients
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground cloves
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cold large eggs
1/2 cup (65 grams) all-purpose flour (unsifted, measured by stirring briefly, spooning into the measuring cup until it's heaped above the rim, then leveling it with a straight-edged knife or spatula)
2/3 cup (65 grams) chopped chocolate or mini chocolate chips
6 sprigs chocolate mint, plus more for garnishing
Directions
Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.
Melt the butter in a medium heatproof bowl by setting the bowl in a wide skillet of barely simmering water.
Once the butter is melted, turn off the heat, add the sprigs of chocolate mint to the bowl, and let it steep for 10-15 minutes
Remove the wilted sprigs of chocolate mint from the butter, then turn the heat back on to bring the water back to a simmer. Add the sugar, cocoa, and salt to the melted butter. Stir from time to time until the mixture is hot enough that you want to remove your finger fairly quickly after dipping it in to test. (It might look gritty here, but it will smooth out later.) Remove the bowl from the skillet and set aside briefly until the mixture is only warm, not hot.
Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. Stir in the chopped chocolate or chocolate chips. Spread evenly in the lined pan.
Bake for 25 minutes and test with a toothpick or fork, as you’ll want it to emerge with just a hint of batter. Bake for 2 more minutes at a time, testing again each time, until that point is reached (the total baking time may be slightly different, depending on the temperature and calibration of your oven). Let cool completely on a rack.
Lift up the ends of the parchment liner and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. Cut into squares and garnish with a few chocolate mint leaves, if desired. Enjoy!