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Friday, July 15, 2011

Guinness Stout Brownies

"You're bringing Guinness Brownies!" I was told. Nevermind that I had never made such things before, I was left with no room for argument. Not that I complained, I'm always happy to try something new and actually having the decision made for me left me with a calm sense of contentment, where without such instructions I would have been left waffling over what to make for at least a week.

Guinness Brownies 2

I did a search and discovered that for the most part there is really only one recipe out in the internet world for Guinness brownies, but it left a bit of room to play with. For one, there was a lot of liquid in the ingredient list, but I couldn't imagine a mere cup of beer showing itself through the dense chocolate flavor. My only contribution to the recipe was to triple the amount of beer and then just reduce it to the called for amount.

Guinness Brownies

They came out so good that one didn't quite make it to the party.

Guinness Brownies Tray

I mean someone had to make sure that they were good before inflicting them upon the masses, right? And who am I to shirk such weighty responsibilities? I dubbed myself "Inspector 27" and left the tell-tale label.

Guinness Brownies Inspected

Guinness Stout Brownies
Adapted slightly from here

1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes
8 ounces dark bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup white chocolate, chopped
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 bottles Guinness Extra stout beer
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with nonstick foil, or regular foil, lightly greased.
- Pour both bottles of beer into a medium saucepan, and simmer on medium heat until it's reduced down to 1 1/4 cups. If you keep a glass measuring cup nearby, you can check the progress when you think you're close. It should take about 15 minutes. Leave the beer on the side to cool.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, and salt until evenly combined.
- Melt butter, bittersweet chocolate and white chips in a double-boiler over very low heat, stirring constantly until melted. Remove from heat. (You can also do this in the microwave, heating it on high and stirring every 30 seconds).
- In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add melted chocolate mixture, beating until combined.
- Beat reserved flour mixture into melted chocolate mixture. Whisk in the reduced beer mixture and the vanilla. The batter will seem a bit thin, but it will be perfect. Pour into the prepared baking pan and drop semisweet chocolate chips evenly on top of batter.
- Bake 20 to 25 minutes on center rack in the oven, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean. (The original recipe cites a longer time, but I found that mine were ready sooner. It might just be my oven so leave it in a few extra minutes if you think it needs it).
- Let brownies cool, uncovered, to room temperature. Dust with confectioners' sugar if you want before serving.


P.S. Please excuse the antiquated grammar, I'm currently reading "A Journey to the Centre of the Earth" by Jules Verne and I guess the language style is infectious. I can't believe I haven't read this book before though, it's really good and is leaving me with a strong urge to travel to Iceland.

34 comments:

  1. Love the inspector badge :) I have to try this recipe!!

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  2. the texture and color are gorgeous, love your little badge - totally cute

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  3. you didn't even mention the adorable tray upon which these were perched, which not so slowly revealed a pleasant surprise to the devourers of the chocolatey treat :)

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  4. OMG Anna, Arthur himself would be proud of what you've done with the blackstuff! E

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  5. Thank you guys! And E, I love that you and Arthur are on first name basis :D

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  6. Holy moly, those look fantabulous!

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  7. These brownies look amazing! what a clever idea adding the deep rich flavor of Guinness to chocolate brownies.

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  8. Hello!
    I finally found your blog again! I felt like I haven't seen your posts or commented them in ages...and I missed that! Your photos and recipes are as lovley as ever.

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  9. Welcome back Brittany, it's lovely to hear from you as well. Thank you for the kind words :D

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  10. Haha did you save me one? May i have some after this insane diet.

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  11. Absolutely Joy, but it might be a bit moldy by then :D

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  12. Sounds wonderful! Speaking of Jules Verne, isn't it fun how reading a some authors' writing can color one's own thoughts and writing at the time?

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  13. That happens to me all the time! I have to alter the types of books I read because I start getting weird looks from people if I get too absorbed into any one genre, especially if I fall for the language style :D

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  14. OMG the color on those brownies is incredible...unbelievable, DEFINETELY trying them.

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  15. Question?
    The recipe calls for guiness extra stout but all your pics are of guiness draught... Which is it :-)

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  16. That is a very good question. The extra stout will give you a slightly stronger flavor but the draught will work just fine too. I used stout in the recipe, but tossed out the bottle before taking pics...and it was my last one :D

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  17. Have anyone tried to cook the recipe? i want to know how it differs from other brownies.

    Drei~ baby phat scrubs

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  18. These brownies are just the bomb! I don't even know what else to say! Chocolate is a favorite for us, but along with the Guinness, it is a recipe I will be making many times!!

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  19. Whoa - this looks great and I am so looking forward to trying it. I plan to make it with the extra stout for the bigger flavor mentioned here. My brownies will never be the same!

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  20. Has anyone else actually made these? I had a few issues with them. I like the flavor, and the boiling down the beer was a genius move (especially if you have the draught instead of the extra stout). They are dense and thick like fudgey brownies, but actually slightly cake-y as well. Truth be told I'm not thrilled with them as I'm getting an overall chalky texture, though my unofficial-official taster says they're good.

    Try swapping dark chocolate (at least 70% cacao) instead of bittersweet baking chocolate for a richer flavor as well.

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  21. i had these at a super bowl party and they were DELICIOUS!!! so. i'm a very happy girl to have found ur recipe. TX for posting it...

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  22. These look amazing! Can't wait to make them for St Pattys. What size were the Guiness bottles?

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  23. I have a technical question...what did you use to cut them? You have such nice sharp lines, no ragged edges. I usually use a plastic disposable knife..but this looks even cleaner.

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  24. Ellen: I dunno, I think they were the standard 12oz bottles?

    TheGoblinQueen: I just used my long kitchen knife and I guess a bit of luck :D

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  25. So I'm making these RIGHT NOW! How cool does the guinness need to be? I even stuck it in the freezer and it's pretty warm still. I don't want to mess these up, thanks for any help!

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  26. Kristy, it's okay if the beer is a little warm, you're sticking the whole thing into the oven anyways. Good luck!

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  27. I am eating a piece of this brownie right now, it is really really really delicious! Thanks for sharing the recipe!

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  28. I really like this very yummmy and i like this brownie i'll try this at home :)

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  29. So my wife found this recipe and I can't tell you how happy I am! Unfortunately the dog got to the fist batch (and lived). The second batch, all mine. Funny thing is, I don't even like sweets that much. I do, however, love Guinness!

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  30. Chris, I'm so glad you liked it and I'm even MORE glad your dog survived an entire batch of brownies! You can now truly say that Guinness saves lives.

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  31. Its OK to use draught instead of stout?

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  32. Made these last night and found them to be great. Mine came out firmly in between fudgy and cakey brownies. I think this is because I whipped my eggs as directed in my Kitchenaid which allowed for a very fluffy egg (I actually only whipped them for 2 minutes) and remained fluffy once all the other ingredients were added. I think of you want a more fudgy brownie like those pictured, you might want to whip your eggs a little less.

    An easier way to make a reduction without constant measuring is to take the pot your going to use, pour in the amount of water your going to want (in this case 1 1/4c), mark a water line on a tooth pick or chopstick, then ditch the water and start your reduction. Then you only have to keep plopping in the "marker" and you will see when you done. No mess, easy to check.

    FeteEvent you might have used old chocolate or over mixed your flour and this resulted in a chalky brownie.

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  33. Mine came out extremely dense. You have to have a glass of milk close-by to get these down.

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  34. Mine came out Charlie. I'm not sure what happened? Also when I mixed the eggs and sugar they never firmed up to be fluffy.

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