Chocolate Lovers Beware

I celebrated my 35th birthday recently.  What was I so scared of?  Thirty-five is no big deal.  It's very much like thirty-four and thirty-three actually.  There were many things that made this birthday special.  I wanted to share one of those things with you- my most favorite brownies.  This is my sister's recipe, but this year my sister-in-law and brother made them for me (and cooked me dinner!).  Before I share the details, we need to go over a few things...the pros and cons to these swoon and coma-inducing brownies...

Cons (some may consider these Pros as well):

1) There is a lot of sugar in these brownies.
2) There is a lot of butter in these brownies.
3) You may not be able to eat just one.  Or just two.
4) Other family members will try to eat them all if you don't hide them well enough.

Pros

1) The recipe calls for a lot of eggs (Major Pro if you've got 11 dozen eggs in your fridge).
2) The recipe calls for Peppermint Patties. Yes, it does.
3) These brownies are chewy.
4) They're majorly chocolaty.
5) Anyone you feed them to may fall madly in love with you.  Hence, you have to be careful with these brownies.
6) They look like this...

York Peppermint Patty Brownies (recipe from my sister, Emily)

24 small York Peppermint Patties, unwrapped
1 1/2 cups (yes, 3 sticks) butter, melted
3 cups sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla
5 eggs
2 cups flour
1 cup cocoa
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt

Stir together butter, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl.  Add eggs.  Beat well.  Stir in flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt.  Blend well.  Reserve two cups of batter.  Spread the remaining batter in a greased 9 x 13 inch pan.  Arrange peppermint patties evenly on top of the batter.  Spread reserved batter over the top.  Bake at 350 degrees (for a metal pan) or 325 degrees (for a glass pan) for about 40 minutes or until set and a sharp knife comes out relatively clean.  Cool completely before cutting into large squares.  These freeze beautifully. Pin It