Beer Brownies

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If you can’t tell from reading this blog…I love food.  I love cooking food.  I love eating food.  The thing about cooking is I rarely measure anything.  Not measuring and tasting as you go is part of the fun when cooking.  Baking, however, is a different story.  Baking is about precision.  Measuring is essential.  I love baking, too.  It soothes my OCD and supplies me with the joy of counting without looking like a light switch off and on, counting out load, run of the mill fruit loop. Baking camouflages the crazy.  Plus you end up with tasty treats.  In addition to loving baking, I love beer, too.  Putting these two things together is like a climax in the kitchen, without the awkward bruises and backache. 

Beer Brownies

Ingredients

3 ½ oz dark chocolate

2 Tbs instant espresso

8 Tbs butter

4 eggs, at room temp

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar, loose, not packed

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

¼ tsp cinnamon

1 cup flour

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup malty beer (stout or porter will work, too)

1 cup semi sweet chips

1 cup walnuts, halved and toasted lightly

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and pop in walnuts until just toasted, about 5 minutes.  Sift together the flour, spices, and cocoa powder.  Meanwhile, melt the chocolate, instant espresso and butter in a bowl over boiling water, add the beer and stir to combine, then let cool.  Beat together the eggs and sugar until thick and shiny.  Sing Michael Jackson’s Beat It while performing this task.  Continue beating on low while adding flour mixture and wet ingredients alternatively.  Finish with the vanilla.  Do not over mix.  Fold in the chips.  Pour into a buttered and floured 9 x 13 pan and sprinkle the walnuts on top.  Bake for 30-35 minutes.

Recipe Source