Sensational Peppermint Patty Brownies

here they are, all nicely packed in a ziploc container for a solider care package

this how the top of mine looked right when I pulled them out of the oven

Back to back brownie recipes because that's how I'm rolling in 2010. This one from my beloved Hershey's 100th Anniversary cookbook, page 100. And yes folks, they are sensational! I made them for a solider's care package. I will use this forum to put in a little plug for a great organization called Baking GALS (stands for Give A Little Support) because who doesn't love a box filled with homebaked goodness whilst serving your country on the otherside of the planet? No one, that's who. So I've made it my goal to join in the fun once a month, check out their website for all the details. Its been easy, fun and I can feel good about spending my afternoon knee deep in all things sugary. I will probably never meet the recipients of these brownies but I hope they could taste how much I appreciate their sacrifices.

Ingredients:
24 small (1 1/2 inch) peppermint patties
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter or margarine, melted
3 cups sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
5 eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Directions:
Heat oven to 350. Remove wrappers from peppermint patties. Grease 9x13 baking pan. In a large bowl with spoon or whisk, stir together butter, sugar and vanilla. Add eggs, stir until well blended. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt, gradually add to butter mixture. Reserve 2 cups batter. Spread remaining batter into prepared pan. Arrange peppermint patties about 1/2 inch apart in a single layer over batter. Spread reserved batter over patties. Bake 50-55 minutes or until brownies began to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into squares. Makes about 3 dozen.

*a note. The batter is T-H-I-C-K that's why it takes almost an hour to bake! Start watching the last 10 minutes of baking to make sure your brownies are doing okay, some ovens cook hotter than others and you don't want hard, dry brownies.