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When I think about the holidays from my childhood, one of my fondest memories is the time spent with my grandmother from Chicago. She would come each year for a few weeks before Christmas, and all year I looked forward to cuddling with her in bed, going to the mall to do Christmas shopping with her, and eating her famous hand-grated potato pancakes. Since “Bah” was from Chicago, she arrived in Virginia armed with the classic Chicagoan holiday gift: Frango Mints from the Marshall Field’s department store.
For anyone who is not familiar with a Frango Mint, they are little squares of chocolate with a creamy, chocolaty mint filling. When I got married, I was given a recipe card with my grandmother’s recipe for these Frozen Frango Bars. It has taken me 9 years to finally try out the recipe for myself, and the experience was definitely a walk down memory lane.
These Frozen Frango Bars are holiday decadence at its finest. To say that they are rich is an enormous understatement. With lots of butter, dark chocolate, and mint, how could they be anything other than amazing?
As I was preparing my first batch of these little frozen cups, I couldn’t help but think of my grandmother and how many times she must have stood in her kitchen following the same recipe card. And the taste! They really do taste just like I remember those Frango Mints tasting – only in frozen form. Complete heaven!
If you are hosting a holiday gathering of any kind, I highly recommend that you prepare a batch of these “bars.” They are festive, tasty, easy to put together, and the perfect individually-sized treat to share with your loved ones. Happy holidays, and happy memory making!
Ingredients
- 1 cup vanilla or chocolate cookie crumbs I couldn't find chocolate graham crackers at my grocery store, so I just crushed up some chocolate Teddy Grahams instead!
- ÂĽ cup butter melted
- 1 cup butter at room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 4 squares 1 ounce each unsweetened chocolate, melted
- 4 eggs
- Âľ teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 18 foil cupcake liners
- Holiday sprinkles optional
Instructions
- Place foil cupcake liners in muffin tins. Lightly spray the muffin tins with cooking spray.
- Mix cookie crumbs and ÂĽ cup melted butter in a small bowl. Place crumb mixture in bottom of cupcake liners and gently press down with your fingers.
- Cream remaining 1 cup of room temperature butter with powdered sugar until light. Add the melted chocolate and then eggs, one at a time, beating constantly. Mix in the peppermint and vanilla extract until well combined.
- Spoon the mixture over the cookie crumbs and freeze until solid. Top with sprinkles if desired.
My grandmother lived in Chicago and loved to shop at Marshall Fields. I think that’s how we were introduced to Frango Mints, they were always one of my favorite candies. Do you keep these in the freezer all the time and serve frozen, how hard do they get? I don’t want to break a tooth. Can I use the chocolate wafer cookies instead of a graham cookie? Thanks in advance for your response.
Hi, Nancy! Yes, definitely keep these frozen. They don’t get too hard…more like an ice-cream cup. 🙂
You can definitely use a chocolate wafer cookie instead of the graham. Good luck – you’ll love them!
thank you so much for this…My grown kids requested I make these this Christmas…their Noni used to make them when they were young…I have my mother-in-law’s recipe but she didn’t write any directions so I was lost as to how to make them…this recipe is exactly like the one she used.
That’s amazing, Sheila! I’ve never heard from anyone else who knows about this dessert. So glad that you’ll be able to recreate your mother-in-law’s recipe!
This is exactly the recipe that my mom in law used to make and my kids (now 44 and 48) remember it so well from their childhood. I never knew the orgins of the recipe… I suspect she got it out of the newspaper at some point as she was always clipping. Thanks for posting this !!!
That’s so good to hear, Sheila! I hope that they bring back great memories. 🙂 I’m the same age as your younger child!