Mint Baileys Brownie Bites

As kids my brother, sister, and I would make leprechaun traps the night before St. Patrick's Day. We would use cardboard boxes covered in tape, propped up, or with high walls in our attempts to capture the little creature.

For some reason I remember using pistachios colored yellow as the "gold" bait more than once. Why we always had pistachios during St. Patrick's day, or why we figured they looked the most like gold I'm not sure. Maybe that's why my traps always turned up empty!

And another tricky thing about this elusive leprechaun, he could change size. As if catching a magical creature wasn't tough enough, one year he would tear the trap to shreds and the next year little foot prints would show how he easily exited the trap with the "gold".

Once he had gotten the gold from the traps he would go around the kitchen and wreak havoc by upturning chairs and opening cabinet doors. But this little guy was kind of like those sour then sweet Sour Patch Kid commercials, because after all that trouble he would always leave us green cookies and juice!

Unfortunately the leprechaun no longer visits so I have to make my own grown-up green treats, full of minty chocolaty booziness.

This leprechaun character could sure take a note or two from me!

 Brownie Ingredients:

Mix brownie ingredients in a bowl.

I decided to do a little experiment with my brownie bites. Half of them I put in mini cupcake liners and the other half I scooped right into the pan which I had sprayed with non stick spray.

Both versions cooked the same. Obviously the cupcake liner brownies were a snap to
take out of the pan, but the unlined ones weren't much tougher since I sprayed the pan.
So at this point I was still undecided as to which method I preferred. 

(Skipping ahead a tad to eating time.) The brownie stuck to the liner so badly that

about half stayed stuck to the bottom. No more brownie bites in liners for me!

 Melt chocolate and make clover shapes using either a spoon, toothpick, or ziplock baggy with the tip cut off, whichever works best for you. I ended up piping the relative shape with the baggy and using a toothpick to form the chocolate to a better final clover shape. Refrigerate.

Use an electric mixer to make the mint frosting.

Pipe on icing and add a chocolate clover.

Brownie Ingredients:
Boxed brownie mix plus ingredients listed on the box
Baileys Irish Cream (substitute this for the amount of water called for by the mix)

Mint Icing Ingredients:
3 tablespoons room temperature butter
3 tablespoons Creme de Menthe
2 cups confectioners sugar

Chocolate Topper Ingredients:
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil

1. Preheat the oven to the temperature instructed on the box.
2. Mix the brownies as instructed on the brownie box, substituting the water for the Baileys Irish Cream.
3. Spray mini cupcake pan with nonstick spay and spoon batter into each cup, just shy of the top.
4. Bake until a toothpick inserted into a brownie bite comes out clean (18 minutes for me).
5. Take out and let cool completely.
6. In a small bowl melt the chocolate chips in the microwave and add the vegetable oil. Stir to combine. Spoon into a plastic baggy and snip off the very tip, use to pipe shamrock shapes onto wax paper. Use a tooth pick to help form the piped shapes. Place in the refrigerator to chill.
7. To make icing, beat the butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer. Add the creme de menthe and a cup of the confectioners sugar, beat to combine. Mix in the remaining sugar, a half cup at a time until appropriate consistency is achieved.
8. To assemble, spoon the icing into an piping bag and ice each brownie. Add a chilled chocolate shamrock to the top.

Note: If the icing is too thick or thin add extra creme de menthe or more powdered sugar until you are happy with the consistency.


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