Guinness Brownies

March 17: Feast Day of St. Patrick

Slainte! St. Patrick’s Day is a time to celebrate Highlander’s heritage. He has traced his ancestry to the Ulster-Scots (Scots-Irish). Today is also a time to eat brownies boozed up with beer from Dublin, Ireland—Guinness. The dry Irish stout, mixed with a “trinity” of chocolate (unsweetened, semi-sweet and white),  makes this dessert dense and delicious! Shake some shamrock sprinkles on top for an edible emerald color contrast. Get into the “spirit” of St. Patrick’s Day and indulge in Guinness brownies.

Recipe

(Adapted from Detroit News)

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour
• ¾ cup unsweetened/baking cocoa powder (we used Nestle Toll House brand)
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 8 ounces (8 squares) of unsweetened chocolate (we used Baker’s brand)
• ¾ cup white chocolate chips (we used Nestle Toll House brand premiere white morsels)
• 6 tablespoons butter (we used Kerrygold brand Irish unsalted butter)
• 1 cup sugar (we lessened the amount to ¾ cup)
• 4 eggs, room temperature
• 1 ¼ cup Guinness beer, room temperature
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (we used Ghirardelli brand)
• candy shamrock sprinkles (optional)

Directions

Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with foil. Mist with cooking spray. In a bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder and salt. Set aside. Melt together the unsweetened chocolate squares, white chocolate chips and butter. 

Stir until smooth. Beat the eggs. Add the sugar. Mix in the melted chocolate. 

Gradually add the flour-cocoa mixture. Stir in the Guinness beer and blend well. The batter will be thin. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Spread evenly with a spatula.

Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees F for 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven. Cool completely. Slice with a plastic knife. While the brownies are still warm, sprinkle candy shamrocks (optional). Yield: 24 square brownies.

Notes 

• The background in the final food photo above features Highlander’s family tartan, a plaid with green, blue and white colors.
• Instead of the shamrock sprinkles, dust the Guinness brownies with powdered sugar before serving.
• Search our blog for more brownie and Irish-inspired recipes.