Junior Mint Brownies

My friend Meredith is in the states this week and we were able to catch up over dinner the other night.  it was not a fancy affair.  I made a baked ziti, a Caesar salad and junior mint brownies for dessert. 

The ziti is pretty self explanatory, so is the Caesar salad really, but I wanted to share the junior mint brownie recipe because it is so good.  It originally came from Cooking Light so it is a relatively guiltless treat is eaten in moderation.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup butter or stick margarine
• 32 (about 3 ounces) creamy, small-size mints in pure chocolate (such as Junior Mints)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg white

Preperation

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Coat bottom of an 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray.
• Combine butter and mints in a 2-cup glass measure; microwave at high 30 seconds or until soft. Stir until smooth, and set aside.
• Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup, and level with a knife. 
• Combine flour, soda, and salt in a bowl. 
• Combine sugar, cocoa, egg, and egg white in a large bowl; beat at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended. Add mint mixture; beat well. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until blended. 
• Pour batter into prepared pan. 
• Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean; cool completely on a wire rack.

Yum!