BYU Mint Brownies

These famous BYU mint brownies can be easily made at home with or without nuts! Brownies topped with a simple homemade mint frosting and chocolate frosting are a delectable dessert.

For 3 years I worked on BYU (Brigham Young University) campus in the freshman dorms’ cafeteria. One of the most popular desserts was the mint brownies.

They are so popular that they always had 2 different variations on hand. There were mint brownies with nuts and mint brownies without nuts.

We would make trays and trays of them and I was always amazed at how fast we would go through those trays. They really were wonderful but my particular favorites were the ones without nuts. 

You can make the brownies from scratch or you can use store bought brownie mix.  If you are making these with children, going the box mix route will be easier. 

Ingredients

• butter
• cocoa powder
• sugar
• eggs
• flour
• baking powder
• salt
• powdered sugar
• peppermint extract
• milk
• green food coloring
• vanilla extract

I went with peppermint extract instead of straight mint because most of the mint extracts I’ve found taste rather medicinal. The peppermint gives that same mint-iness without that weird aftertaste.

If you prefer mint or only have mint extract on hand, use that instead. You can also doctor store bought vanilla icing by adding 1/2 tsp peppermint icing and 1-2 drops green food coloring. If needed, add a tablespoon of powdered sugar to thicken it if it is too thin.

How to make this:

To make the brownie batter:

• Melt the butter and mix in cocoa and sugar.  Add eggs, flour, baking powder, and salt.  Mix well.  Add nuts, if using.  
• Pour batter into a greased 9 by 13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes. Cool.

To make the mint icing:

• In a medium sized bowl, beat butter with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer.  Add salt and powdered sugar.  Beat until smooth and fluffy.  Add mint extract and food coloring.  Mix.  Add milk a little at a time until the consistency is a little thinner than cake frosting.
• Spread mint icing over brownies.  Place brownies in the freezer until the icing is completely hard.

To make the chocolate icing

• Using same bowl as the mint icing, beat the remaining butter with a mixer.  Add salt, cocoa powder, and powdered sugar.  Beat until smooth and fluffy.  Add vanilla extract and add enough milk to thin to frosting consistency.  Spread over chilled mint icing.
• Keep refrigerated.

These also freeze really well. I cut them into squares and then freeze them separated slightly in waxed paper. When we want them I pull a few squares and let them thaw for about 5 minutes.

Tips for Cooking with Kids

• Always make sure to lay out all of the ingredients ahead of time. With a multi-process recipe pull out everything you need to make only the brownies, then the mint frosting, and finally for the chocolate frosting. Clean up between each step to reduce the overall mess!
• If you are making this with small children, use a box mix or make the brownies ahead of time to shorten up the process.
• You can also use a can of chocolate frosting from the store instead of making it from scratch.

See my guide for more tips on cooking with kids.

Other brownies dessert recipes you may like:

• Smores Brownies
• Strawberry Cream Cheese Brownies
• Caramel and Toasted Coconut Brownies