Beer Brownies

What do you do that day after St. Patrick's Day with all that leftover Guinness? You make brownies of course!!!! (I know that right now you're shouting at your computer about the blasphemy that is leftover Guinness, but for those of us who were quietly enjoying the day at home, there's bound to be 1 or 2 bottles that didn't get consumed....)

I saw this recipe on Pinterest and traced it back to what I think is the original post, a blogger named Patent & the Pantry. It's a really cute blog and her brownie recipe was killer so I'm thinking the rest of her stuff is great too. I'll be trolling her site regularly for inspiration.

A word of caution about reducing Guinness on the stove top....It foams up and over flows really fast if you let it come to a boil and yes it does catch on FIRE if you have an open-flame gas range....so don't try to rush it by turning the heat up...


1 Cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa-powder (the unsweetened baking kind)
1/4 tsp salt
6 tablespoons butter, softened, cut into chunks
1 Cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cups of milk-chocolate chips
4 large eggs, room temp or close to it
1 Cup sugar
2 bottles of Guinness beer
3/4 tsp vanilla
1 Cup white chocolate chips (I didn't have any so I used semi-sweet and it was still awesome)
Powder sugar for dusting

1. Heat your oven to 375 degrees. Line a 9X13 baking pan with parchment paper for easy brownie removal, or just spray lightly with cooking spray

2. Take out your eggs and butter, set on the counter where they won't roll away.

3.  Pour beer into a small pan and set to a simmer over medium-low heat. Allow to cook until reduced by half, about 25 minutes.  You'll want about 1 1/4 cup of beer-syrup. Remove from heat and let cool. *cooking down the beer is key to the flavor and fudgey consistency of these brownies. Don't skip this step*

4. While beer is cooking, whisk together flour, cocoa-powder and salt in a large bowl until well combined.

5.  In a microwave safe bowl, combine butter, semi-sweet and milk-chocolate chips. Microwave for at 30 second intervals until melted and you can stir together for a nice smooth consistency. Set aside to cool lightly.

6. In a mixer, cream together eggs and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes on medium-high setting.

7. Slowly pour chocolate mixture into egg/sugar fluff. Mix on medium speed until well combined.

8. Add flour mixture and stir until just moistened. Don't over mix it! There's more mixing to come, don't panic.

9. Switch to a whisk attachment and slowly pour in beer syrup and vanilla.  Whisk until it's all mixed in good. It's going to take a few minutes and the batter will be very runny when you're done.

10.  Pour into prepared pan and give a good jiggle to shake the bubbles out. Sprinkle white chocolate chips evenly over batter.

11. Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

12. Let cool and cut into squares. Sprinkle with powder sugar if desired.