Anyway, the reason I started thinking about after-dinner mints was that mint is the special guest ingredient in this month's We Should Cocoa challenge, guest-hosted by Victoria of A Kick At The Pantry Door. Here's what I came up with.
Chocolate Mint Bars
This is so easy - the hardest part is waiting for it to set. If you don't have or don't like Oreos, I think it could work with any Mint Cremes or any dark chocolate biscuit. If you're using biscuits with a creamy filling, wait until the chocolate and cream mixture is quite cool before adding them or they will melt. Feel free to increase or reduce the peppermint essence (or oil, if you can get it). Either way, don't measure it over the bowl - the laws of baking gravity will ensure you accidentally tip in much more than you intended.
150ml cream
150g dark chocolate (the darker the better - I used 70 per cent cacao), roughly chopped
150g Oreo cookies (a packet)
1-1/2 tsp peppermint essence to taste
Line a large loaf tin with baking paper, leaving enough of an overhang so you can pull the finished product out easily.
Put the cream and chocolate into a small saucepan and set over very low heat. Keep a close eye on it - as soon as the cream looks like it is about to simmer, take it off the heat and stir well until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
Crumble the Oreos with your fingers - you want them in bits, not crumbs, so they add a crunchy texture - and add to the chocolate-cream mixture, along with the peppermint essence. Stir and taste - add more if you want it to be really minty.
Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin and smooth the top, then put it in the fridge to set (about an hour, best after two). Carefully lift out using the baking paper and cut into slender bars. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.
Have a great weekend, everyone! x
They look lush! I thought there would be more ingredients needed in this, but it looks pretty easy :-) x
ReplyDeleteNow those bars are just lush - no more to be said.
ReplyDeleteOr maybe there is. Our local Indian, which we frequent give us a nice little after dinner mint square with the bill - so the tradition is not quite dead, not in Liskeard anyway.
Definitely a real treat. I'm trying to remember when I was last given a minty choc in a restaurant and I can't bring it to mind. That tradition needs a revival.
ReplyDeleteSo delicious and what a lovely story!
ReplyDeletemary x
they look like whoppers!... i've been wracking my brains to come up with a good one for this challenge and I think you've quite possibly topped the challenge... they look beautiful and I do adore chocolate and mint... I will be making these!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely thing to wake up to in the morning! We never got after dinner mints but I do remember being in bed and my mum coming in to see us before she went out, dressed up in a long dress all made up, I thought those 'dinner dances' must have been so glamourous! so back in the real world of work, farm and family...love your minty choccy bars.
ReplyDeleteThese sound so yummy! And dangerous. Very dangerous to this choc-mint loving girl!
ReplyDeleteThey look phenomenal! I too am a sucker for the after dinner mint, thankfully a few places we go to still uphold the tradition! Thank you so much for entering We Should Cocoa with these beauties :-)
ReplyDelete