Guinness Brownies

Out of all the Guinness recipes I've published on Hubpages, this one has to be one of my favorites. There's something about brownies and milk that is special; it's a treat tha pleases almost everyone.

This recipe is a pretty traditional recipe, but with Guinness added - the Guinness gives it a slight bitterness and boldness that make these brownies very good - as the alcohol burns off in cooking, the brownies are suitable for children.

• 1 cup flour - I used standard blanched flour, but for a slightly healthier option you can use whole wheat flour.
• 3/4 cup Hershey's cocoa powder - or any unsweetened cocoa powder. (I have used Cadbury's powder too).
• 1/4 teaspoon salt - not sure why this is needed - but without it the brownies do not taste the same.
• 6 tablespoons butter (let it become soft at room temperature prior to cooking) - you can substitute with margarine.
• 8 ounces dark bittersweet chocolate - you can use regular sweet chocolate but I find this makes the brownies far to rich and sweet.
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips (any variety - I tend to use large chips) - you can also subsitute for nuts here - or use a combination of the two.
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar - if you have confectionery sugar, this works better; with the confectionary sugar you get a better blend with the mixing and this seems to make the brownies a little fluffier.
• 1-1/4 cups Guinness - you can vary this and combine with milk or cream if you must.
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips - can also be nuts or a combination.

• Heat the oven to 375 degrees F - you can reduce the heat and cook longer, but this heat seems to work best for me.
• In a 8x13 baking pan, spread a little butter or line with foil to stop brownies sticking) - note I prefer to use a non-stick pan here, as no matter what technique I use, I always have problems with 'sticking'.
• Mix flour, cocoa powder, suagr and salt together in a bowl - I tend to use my hands here - it's more fun - but you can use a wooden spoon.
• Melt butter, bittersweet chocolate and chocolate chips together - the best way to do this is to heat a pan of boiling water, and place a bowl over it - stirring the contents gently until they melt together.
• Beat eggs until fluffy - slowly pour in the melted chocolate mixture while continuing to beat the contents - this can take a while so I'd use an electric mixer on low to medium.
• Slowly add the flour mixture and Guinness until well mixed.
• Pour the batter into the pan - you can use a spatula to ensure the batter is even, or simply move the pan around until you have an even layer. (Note - the batter may seem thin )
• Drop the semi-sweet chocolate chips gently onto the top of the batter - they don't have to be too even.
• Place the pan in the center of the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes - you can test to see if they are done by pushing a knidfe into the center of the brownies slowly and then pulling it out - if it comes out clean then the brownies are done.

You can use soybean equivalents of minced lamb, or simply replace the meat with beans – the method is similar, although you won’t need to brown the vegetable. Replace the beef stock with a suitable vegetable stock.

Guinness is not suitable for vegetarians, you’d have to replace the Guinness with one of the stouts below:

• Alloa Stout - bottle
• Bell's Stout (Various)
• Black Isle Brewery Porter Stout
• Bridge of Allan's Glencoe Wild Oat Stout (bottled)
• Hopback Entire Stout
• Isle of Skye Oyster Stout (bottled)
• Linfit English Guineas Stout - bottle
• Cropton's Scorseby Stout (bottle)
• Dublin's Darcy's Dublin Stout
• Samuel Adams Stout (Various)
• Titanic Brewery Stout - bottle