Bourbon Brownies

My Super Bowl party was extra small this year – just me and Tim….. but our food was great! I made deviled eggs, ham salad sandwiches, potato skins and these awesomely wonderful brownies. I’ve never made these before but I give them a total 5 star rating. Luckily, we had a bottle of bourbon in the back of the cabinet and I had all the remaining ingredients in the pantry. The method is a bit different than regular brownies, so read carefully before jumping in.

Here’s what you need:

For the Brownies:

½ C sugar

1/3 C butter

2 T water

1 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 t vanilla

2 eggs

¾ C flour

¼ t baking powder

¼ t salt

½ C chopped pecans

¼ C bourbon

For the Frosting:

1 ½ C powdered sugar

3 T butter, softened

¼ t vanilla

7-9 t milk

2 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, melted

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, butter and water. Cook and stir constantly until boiling. Remove from heat and add the chocolate and vanilla. Mix well and then add the eggs.

Add the flour, baking powder, salt and mix until totally blended. Stir in nuts. Spread evenly in a greased 8 inch square pan. (I measured my pan to make sure it was 8 inches)

Bake 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Do not over bake. Using a toothpick or the tines of a fork, poke lots of holes in the brownies while still hot. Drizzle the bourbon over the brownies with a spoon. Allow to completely cool for an hour.

Make frosting by mixing the powdered sugar, vanilla and enough milk for spreading consistency. Add the milk one teaspoon at a time! Frost and drizzle with melted chocolate. Allow to set completely before slicing (I put mine out in the cold garage to harden)

I took these to work and they got rave reviews and lots of jokes about the bourbon – you can really taste it! I would suggest cutting them in tiny, tiny squares for serving. They come out of the pan beautifully and make a lovely presentation. Enjoy!

(printable recipe)

I'd love to hear from you! What are some of your favorite variations on the basic brownie? (You really can't go wrong with any kind of brownie can you?)