Homemade (from scratch) dark chocolate brownies with a sweet peppermint icing. Making brownies from scratch is so easy, you’ll never need to go back to the boxed mixes!

It doesn’t get much easier than stirring together a bowl of brownie batter. That’s right. You can ditch the box and make your own homemade mix in ten minutes or less.

For a few years, I used a delicious brownie recipe from Cook Like Your Grandmother. But in the past several months, I’ve only made brownies a handful of times because the recipe calls for much more sugar/butter than I typically would choose for a weeknight dessert.

So I took that recipe and made some changes to make it lighter and a “healthier”. Better ingredients, less sugar, gluten-free.. but still a little indulgent. I mean, it is still a brownie. 😉

Dark Chocolate Brownies with Peppermint Icing

Let’s talk ingredients…

Dark Chocolate

Dark chocolate is a favorite of mine. You can skip buying my any candy– just give me dark chocolate and I’m good. Its chocolate meets superfood. YASSS.

If dark chocolate isn’t so much your thing, don’t worry. First, the icing mellows it out a bit. Second, baby steps towards better ingredients, friend. A brownie is a pretty sweet baby step.

{more dark chocolate recipes at the bottom of this post}

Coconut Sugar

Coconut sugar is one of my favorite natural sweeteners. It’s really easy to sub for regular sugar in recipes without messing up the chemistry too much. It has a lower hit on the glycemic index and has trace minerals.

I order coconut sugar from Amazon using their subscribe and save option. It’s a great price and doesn’t mean a special trip trying to find it at the store.

{more coconut sugar recipes at the bottom of this post}

Almond Flour

We are not gluten-free in our home, but I like using almond flour occasionally, and I know that there are many who read this blog who prefer gluten-free recipes.

I like almond-flour for some recipes, like this one. You get richer flavors and a little protein too.

Costco has the best price on almond flour that I’ve seen.

Peppermint Essential Oil

Quality essential oils can be a good way to flavor foods, but you want to make sure you use the oils sparingly. A couple rules of thumb are to remember that you can use a little more if you are adding the oil before you cook. I also like to drop the oil on a spoon first just in case a surprise drop follows the first. For especially strong oils, using the tip of a toothpick is often sufficient. Just remember you can always add a little more, so go slowly.

It’s also important to note that you want to select a peppermint oil that is safe for internal use. I use and recommend DoTERRA oils (for so much more than brownies). Peppermint essential oil is one of my winter must-haves because it’s great for upset stomachs, reducing fevers, and more.

If you would rather not use essential oil, no problem! You can use peppermint extract to flavor the icing.

Food Coloring

The food coloring is completely optional, of course, since it doesn’t add any flavor to the brownies. I keep natural food coloring on hand for occasionally coloring treats. I use it so sparingly that it is worth splurging a little on to have an option that is not artificial and going to cause my kids to go crazy.