Spice in the Kitchen: Peppermint Blondies with Chocolate Ganache

I know, nothing says the holidays like 65 degree weather, baking while the windows are wide open and you are in a short sleeved shirt, right? It's been so super warm here, and while I don't mind, specially since our heating bill is non-existent, it just doesn't seem very Christmasy to me. To boost my holiday spirits, I decided to play around with a seasonal recipe for my husband's office: a peppermint blondie with chocolate chips, topped with chocolate ganache and crushed candy canes!

Omit the peppermint and candy canes and a 1 tsp vanilla for an everyday yum-nums flavor.

Peppermint Blondies with Chocolate Ganache (vegan)
makes one 8x8 pan; prep time: 15 minutes; 30 minutes cooking time

Ingredients


blondies:

• 1 & 1/8 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 TB cornstarch
• 1/3 cup vegan margarine
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup non-dairy milk
• 1/4 cup non-dairy yogurt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1.5 tsp peppermint extract
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup crushed candy canes

ganache:

• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 2 TB non-dairy milk
• 1 tsp vegan margarine
• 1 tsp vanilla
• dash salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line an 8x8 brownie pan with parchment paper.
2. In a small saucepan, over a low flame, melt vegan margarine and brown sugar, stirring constantly. Once melted and combined, stir in non dairy milk, yogurt, vanilla and peppermint extract. Remove from heat. Let cool slightly.
3. Sift together dry ingredients into a bowl.
4. Fold margarine mixture into dry ingredients until just combined. Do not over mix. Fold in chocolate chips.
5. Scoop mixture into brownie pan and bake in a pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes.
6. In the last 5 minutes of the brownies baking, make your ganache: in a small saucepan, melt all ganache ingredients over a low flame, stirring until smooth.
7. Remove brownies from oven and let cool slightly. Top with ganache and crushed candy canes. Let cool before slicing--but do not refrigerate. Keep tightly wrapped until serving.