Gourmet at Midnight

I am of the opinion that certain things are just worth it!
Currently, I'm waiting on my grasshopper squares (a fancy term for brownies with mint and chocolate ganache toppings) to thicken. It may be after 11pm, but they are going to taste incredible tomorrow for my Girl Time date with Casey and Cynthia!

I've been working on them for 2.5 hours now and in about 20 more minutes I can put the last layer on, stick it in the fridge, and head to bed!

I don't know about you, but I'm not an exact recipe follower...I tweak anything. If I don't want the texture of something like onions in a certain dish I'll use a dash of onion powder.

There is some mysterious ingredient called "creme de menthe" required for this recipe I'm working on tonight and I have yet to find it. My parents do not drink alcohol, so when my mom learned that creme de menthe was a type of alcohol she refused to buy it. My dad and I searched tonight through the alcohol section of HEB just for the fun of finding out what it was...to no avail.

Therefore, I was forced to improvise and used mint and peppermint extracts as I have the last two times I've made these. Truthfully, they couldn't taste better! I stumbled upon this recipe in a magazine called Gourmet three or four years ago. I almost didn't get the magazine because there was an enormous squashed cricket on the back of it...but my tastebuds are very glad I overcame my disgust and bought it!

Speaking of baking and magazines...there is a way you (yes! you!) can win a cookbook or subscription to a magazine if you check this out by Feb. 20th, 2011! Check out the free giveaway from my friend Amy Rene by clicking on the title of this post! :)

I will now go add that chocolate ganache to my creation!