Beer Brownies

Looking at these pictures make me want to eat these brownies.  Right now.  At 7:59am. Even while I am battling a cold. They are that good.  Luckily for me, I still have some sitting on my counter at home.  I definitely know what I will be eating tonight while watching The Bachelor. 

On Friday, I had a chocolate craving like no other.  I was craving it so strongly that I was grumpy. Can anyone else relate to that?  I will acknowledge the ridiculousness of this situation even though it was legit at the same time.  My sweet mother had given me a really nice bar of dark chocolate for my birthday.  This dark chocolate was specifically designed for baking.  So I figured 1) I needed something chocolate ASAP and 2) I had an awesome baking chocolate bar so why not go big and make a dark chocolate chip brownie.  Heck yes! 

While googling, I found this recipe for Beer Brownies on The Kitchy Kitchen website.  Heck yes again! I had to make them immediately.  I put Owen in his little jumper bouncer thing and started baking.  

This is the super nice dark chocolate my mom got me for my birthday.  It's called Scharffen Berger Baking Bar.  It was extraordinarily good.  The bar comes in five sections.  I chopped up two of the sections for the melted chocolate portion of this recipe.  The other three sections I chopped into larger chunks to put into the brownie batter.  Who doesn't like big dark chocolate chunks in their brownies?!?

I honestly think I became a better person as soon as I tasted these warm dark chocolate and beer infused brownies.  Maybe not a better person in regards to my actual character but a better person in the sense that I was more manageable to be around.

This brownie recipe is the perfect, and I truly mean perfect, brownie to use in an ice cream sundae.  The dark chocolate and IPA additions make the brownies sweet but not too sweet.  If you added ice cream and chocolate fudge to the top of this brownie, you would be in heaven.  I promise! I have no doubt I will be baking this brownie recipe again for a family event or when we have people over for dinner.  Or maybe just on a random Friday when another grumpy chocolate craving hits... I hope you enjoy!!

          ***************

Beer Brownies
-recipe from The Kitchy Kitchen.  (I didn't follow the recipe exactly so I have included the recipe below as I made it.)

1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
3 1/2 ounces semi sweet chocolate (I used dark chocolate.)
8 tablespoons of butter, browned
1/2 cup stout (or any dark beer) or cold coffee (I used one of Matt's dark IPAs.)
4 eggs, at room temp
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate chunks here.)

Preheat oven to 350F.

Mix flour and cocao powder together in a small bowl.  Set aside.  Melt the chocolate in a medium t to large microwave safe bowl.  Begin by heating for 30 seconds.  Stir and continue heating in 10 second increments until fully melted. Place butter in a pan over medium heat.  Melt until it turns light brown and smells slightly nutty.  Pour browned butter into melted chocolate, then add the beer.  Add the four eggs and sugars.  Beat until well mixed.  Add the flour mixture and stir until combined.  Add the vanilla.  Stir to combine.  Add the chocolate chunks and mix.  Pour into a buttered and floured 9 x 13 pan.  Bake for approximately 40-45 minutes.

          ***************