Grasshopper Squares

Shavua tov! This week is off to a really good start so far-last night my friends L and J got married!! Her Shabbat Kallah was this weekend and to make it easier to get to, I stayed by friends of mine in Jerusalem, which altogether made it a beautiful Shabbat. I offered to bring dessert to both of my hosts and they both eagerly accepted. I asked my roommate for ideas of what to bake and she quickly said, why dont you make something parsha (the Torah portion of the week) related? I opened up my Tanach and started reading (I was on a tiyul that wasn't so entertaining..). Inspiration struck immediately! One of the plagues mentioned was locust. That led to grasshoppers which led to... Grasshopper Squares, the bar cookie based on the classic cocktail. Then I realized that my host's roommate is known for making food at her meals that tie into the parsha so this was the perfect tribute! I searched the internet and all of my books for a recipe but I couldnt find one that perfectly suited my needs so I blended the best elements of the Baked recipe as found on Serious Eats and Hershey's Mint Bars. I used the brownie base, the mint filling from the Hershey recipe and elements from both for the glaze. What do you know? This recipe is now going to be the recipe I use for these. They were so well received- everyone thought that they were not only delicious, but looked beautiful. I actually whipped out the ruler to cut them into even pieces. What I loved especially about the glaze was that even after chilling, it didnt lose its luster. I made a 9x13 inch pan and the batch evenly in half, one half per meal.
Grasshopper Squares


Brownie:
3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon dark unsweetened cocoa powder (like Valrhona)
5 ounces good quality dark chocolate (60 to 72%), coarsely chopped
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut into 1 inch cubes
3/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoons vanilla extract


Mint Cream:
3 cups powdered sugar
3/4 cup softened margarine
1 1/2 tbsp water
1 tsp mint extract
green food coloring


Glaze:
1 cup chocolate chips
1 tbsp corn syrup
6 tbsp margarine

For the brownie, line a 9x13 inch pan with parchment. Grease and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350.
Sift together the dry ingredients and set aside. Melt the margarine and chocolate together. Add the sugars and mix just until blended, taking care not to incorporate too much air. Add the eggs one a time, and the vanilla, mixing without incorporating too much air. Fold in the dry ingredients. Spread into the pan and bake 13-15 minutes. Do not overbake. Cool COMPLETELY.

For the mint cream, place the filling ingredients in a bowl and beat to blend.

Here is my finished cream, using a tiny drop of green food coloring.

Spread evenly over the brownie base and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

Place the glaze ingredients into a pot and melt.

Pour over the mint filling and spread evenly. Chill thoroughly.

Cut into pieces and serve.