Halloween Peppermint Patty Brownie Cups

Now that I'm back from Quilt Market with my mom and aunt, I can get back to baking! In honor of Halloween, which is just around the corner, I decided to make something festive -- Brownie Cups with Halloween Peppermint Patties! I've been seeing a lot of cookie dough and brownie recipes being made in muffin tins (saves the time of having to form individual cookies) and decided it was time to try it out for myself!

I used regular-sized muffin tins and the result was quite rich, so it might be fun to play around with mini muffin tins too. You might have to cut the peppermint patties to fit, but no harm done (you will have to cut baking time, however)! Either way, the fudgey-minty combo is so, so good! The only challenge with this recipe is deciding when to remove them from the oven. The original recipe suggests using a toothpick or cake tester, but the problem is that the peppermint patty will be melted inside, so the toothpick never comes out cleanly. I just went by look (made sure the top was darkening and the sides were slightly pulling away) and feel (each top felt firm).

Now, there are unlimited ways of decorating the brownies to make them more Halloween-y. You could make some orange frosting, top with a candy corn, or do something like this. However, the orange filling of the Peppermint Patties will do the job!

Peppermint Patty Brownie Cups
From Martha Stewart's Cupcakes (as seen on The Brownie Project)

8 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
¾ tsp salt
3 large eggs
½ cup all purpose flour
¼ cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
12 small chocolate covered peppermint patties, such as York

1.    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard muffin pan with paper liners. Place chocolate and butter in a double boiler and melt over low to medium heat, or melt in the microwave in 30-second increments.

2.    Whisk the sugar and salt into the butter and chocolate combination until mixture is smooth. The, whisk in eggs to combine. Gently add in flour and cocoa until smooth.

3.    Spoon 1 tablespoon of batter into each lined cup. Place 1 peppermint patty on top, gently pressing into batter. Top with 1 to 2 tablespoons batter, covering patty completely. Bake for about 30 minutes, rotating tin halfway through, until a cake tester inserted halfway into centers (above mint patty) comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached. Transfer tin to a wire rack to cool completely before removing cupcakes.

Snickerdoodles & Chocodoodles

The words Snickerdoodle and Chocodoodle make me think of a Goldendoodle – an adorable mix of a Golden Retriever and a Poodle. So so cute. Once I get over how cute that dog is (and how about a Puggle?!), I can move on and focus on actual Snickerdoodles! I’ve tried a bunch of different recipes and was very willing to try this one when it mentioned you could make a chocolate version. Why hadn’t I thought of that before?! 

The basic Snickerdoodle version of this cookie is really good. It had just the right amount of sweetness (only 1/3 cup of sugar) given it would be rolled in a cinnamon/sugar combo before baking. I usually prefer a few more spices mixed into the actual batter (this only has nutmeg), but the texture was great and the overall taste didn’t disappoint!

The Chocodoodle version really grew on me. At first I was thrown by the flavor of chocolate mixed with nutmeg, but, after my second cookie (!), I was really loving it -- it was almost like the nutmeg made the chocolate taste richer. This is definitely one to try… it’s not your everyday cookie.

Snickerdoodles (with Chocodoodle option!)
(From Bake or Break)

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar, + 2 tablespoons for rolling cookies
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon cinnamon

1.    Preheat oven to 350°. Line or grease baking sheets and set aside.
2.    Combine flour, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3.    Beat butter and 1/3 cup sugar until creamy. Add egg and vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients until smooth.
4.    Mix together cinnamon and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Pinch dough into walnut-sized pieces and roll into balls. Roll each ball in cinnamon/sugar mixture, and place on baking sheets.
5.    Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for one minute, then cool completely on a wire rack.
6.    Makes about 18 medium-sized cookies.

To make Chocodoodles: Replace 2 tablespoons of flour with cocoa.