I’m more than half way to old, and I don’t just mean in age. There is a trend I have noticed as my parents have gotten into their so called golden years. They talk about five things: People dying, what they ate, what hurts/doctor visits, the weather, and how much stuff costs. Crap I am old. Other than constantly talking about people dying…I’m there. What the heck will I have to talk about when I am actually old? This is bad.
At least I don’t really delve into the people dying thing all that much. I mean I get why they do because they are at the age where people are dying. When someone my age dies we freak out a little more because it doesn’t happen as much. But the conversation with my mother is always the same:
Mom: So and So died yesterday, it’s so sad.
Me: Who?
Mom: You know so and so.
Me: No mom I do not know so and so.
Mom: Yes you do. She’s so and so’s neighbor.
Me: Oh, yeah… No mom. I don’t live in your town remember?
Mom: Don’t be sassy with me. You met her.
Me: When?
Mom: At the Christmas party 9 years ago, she was the nice quiet woman.
Yes, clearly it’s all coming back to me now! Not. Then we go round about how she swears I met them. When we finally mutually agree that at this point it doesn’t really matter if I met them or not we then move on to details about what they died of. Joy.
But other than that…I do the other stuff. I list what I eat (luckily not to everyone). I live in Seattle therefore you must talk about the weather. I’m always hurting myself so I complain about aches and pains. And of course I talk about how expensive stuff is. So really, they are going to have to invent new stuff for people to talk about when I get old or I am screwed. Sigh.
These kind of relate to the story since my mom likes to list everything she makes for community center bake sales. She makes peppermint brownies a lot. These are nothing like hers as she uses peppermint patties. But I didn’t have those but I did find Andes Mints (which my mom loves) Pieces when I was at Winco and bought a bunch for times like these. These are a pretty dense brownie and go well with ice cream as you can see. Which if you are old, you won’t need your teeth for. See, I got you covered. 🙂
P.S. Don’t worry about me picking on my mom…she loves it. 😛 And she would want you to VOTE for my home farm!!!!
Hint-O-Mint Brownies
1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup cocoa powder
½ tsp. salt
¾ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
5 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
5 ounces Andes Mint pieces (if they don’t sell them just buy the mints and chop them up)
Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 9-x-13-inch baking pan with baking spray.
In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Set aside.
Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed for about 2 minutes.
Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in vanilla. Gradually mix the dry ingredients until well combined.
Stir in the chopped chocolate and mint pieces.
Spread batter evenly in the prepared pan.
Bake 35-40 (I went on the 35 side) minutes, or until the sides of the brownies have begun to pull away slightly and the center tests slightly moist when a wooden skewer is inserted.
Remove the pan and place it on a wire rack to cool completely. Cut and enjoy.
Adapted from The Greystone Bakery Cookbook by Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan
mis-cakes says
hahahah i totally have the same conversation with my mom all the time.
oh and i bought andes mint pieces for brownies so i might give these a whirl. (we don’t have them in Canada)
Nicole says
My mom will just say, “well, we have to go to so and so’s funeral.”
I have aches and pains too, just not as young as I used to be.
I’ve tried a couple of minty brownies and they just never turn out quite right. Maybe I will give your recipe a try.
Becca says
These look like amazing brownies! I just looked over the ingredient list and boy does it have a lot of chocolate in the batter 🙂 If there was ever a time for a “like” button, the time would be now.
Krissy says
I had an ice cream sandwich for breakfast. Don’t need teeth for those! So, looks like I’ve at least got breakfast figured out for those golden years ahead. 😉
Krissy says
p.s. As for elderly people talking about people dying alot, I got pretty weirded out when an ageing family friend called the local crematorium “The Crem”. o.O
kristine@SugarBeams says
You left out one last step, disclosing to everyone you know (including the cute bag boy who you no longer see as ‘cute’ but as how much he resembles your youngest grandson) how many times you get up to go to the bathroom at night…at that point, give it up, pop another Geritol and turn on ‘Murder She Wrote’ ;-}
Lauren at Keep It Sweet says
These brownies look like perfection in texture! I think most people have a part of them that acts like an old person:-)
Shelby says
LOL, well I don’t know how “old” you are but I’m getting close to that middle number between 1 and 100. ha ha. I have a couple more years before I hit it. Hopefully I have quite a few more years before I have to discuss people dying though because most of the “older” people I know are my parents, aunts & uncles.
Love your brownies and the photo is awesome. I’m pinning this one!!
LeeH says
Nah, you’re not old. This is just what people talk about. Don’t like it? You could discuss world affairs and where you think Gadahfi is
Melinda says
Well, I am pretty old compared to you.
Your poor mother, it is sad when your friends start dying.
But you will know when you really are old because you will worry about your bowels more. I am a nurse so I can officially and professionally tell you this is the truth.
Hey! How about those brownies? Wow, minted brownies are not big here. Such a shame!
I wonder if they are good for one’s bowels?
Heather says
VOTED! 🙂
Amy Tong says
Thanks for reminding me that I’m old too! LOL…those are the 4 things that I talk about often too. I can’t believe my mom had a similar conversation like the one you had with your mom! So funny. 🙂 Thanks for sharing and your brownie looks wonderful.
Nutmeg Nanny says
I want some brownies….
Maureen says
This made me laugh and you so nailed it. My mother used to rate funerals as in “that was a good funeral” or “not so great” Her rating scale was based on how many people attended, who sang, what kind of lunch the ladies of the church provided after the funeral. Bringing up the last category was age – the older the better.
karen d says
That so reminded me of my mother. She called me one day to tell me that so-and-so had died. I told her I didn’t know who she was talking about, and she insisted that I did know. This went on forever until she finally said, in exaperation, “You know so-and-so, he’s on my story (soap opera)! I’ve had a chocolate mint fixation lately..these are on my to do list.
dawn says
This so sounds like mom…she always used to do that to us with some actor or movie that she couldn’t remember the name of. It actually used to worry me greatly when I did know what she was talking about because I was afraid it meant I was turning into my mom:)
Ana says
Hey Peabody.
As soon as I saw there, I knew I had to make them as everything else I have made from your blog has been outstanding.
I have a question though… I live in Australia and don’t have access to Andes nor can i find a decent description of what they are online. Are they just a peppermint chocolate concoction?
any help you could give me would be fantastic.
Love from Down Under!
Ana
Peabody says
@ana- Andes mint are a chocolate with a hint of mint. They are not over powering like peppermints. If you can’t get them, they might be hard to replicate. Maybe all chocolate with a hint of peppermint oil ( I like that better than extract)