Thin Mints Brownies

A few weeks ago, I got this awesome opportunity to participate in a contest with Girl Scout cookies! I finally picked up my [free] cookies on Monday and began baking last night. I only get to submit one recipe so my plan is to come up with a bunch of different concoctions and submit my favorite into the contest. 

Last night I kept it simple and made Thin Mints brownies.

This recipe is an experiment for the Girl Scout Cookie Contest.

Ingredients:
8 Thin Mints Girl Scout cookies
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8x8 inch pan. (I used 8x11 and it worked just fine)
2. Using a fine cheese grater, grate the outsides of 5 cookies to get a fine pile of chocolate shavings. Try to shave just down to the cookie to avoid a big pile of cookie crumbs.
3. Save the rest of the grated cookies and combine them with the 3 ungrated cookies into a food processor (or Magic Bullet in my case) and grate to a fine crumb. Set aside.
4. Melt butter in a microwave-safe bowl for about 15 seconds.
5. Combine melted butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and peppermint extract in a bowl and mix, preferably by hand so as not to incorporate too much air.
6. Add in flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, and cookie crumbs.
7. Bake for about 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
8. After removing the pan from the oven, sprinkle the chocolate shavings over the top of the brownies.

Glaze
I decided to add a minty glaze to the tops of these brownies to add aesthetic appeal and also make them extra sugary and yummy. You will need:

1/2 cup powdered sugar
A splash (under 1/4 teaspoon) of peppermint extract
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-3 tablespoons milk

Combine powdered sugar, peppermint, and vanilla in a bowl and stir with a spoon. Gradually add in milk until desired consistency is reached. Be careful because a little milk goes a long way and it can become too runny very quickly.