A couple weeks ago I had the pleasure of spending the afternoon with Claire Thomas of The Kitchy Kitchen, whose near encyclopedic, eponymous cookbook just came out. Claire happened to have brought with her a boatload of insanely delicious baked goods, all of which had a near ideal sweet/salt, crispy/chewy balance. And when I got home and cracked open my brand new cookbook, I discovered her introduction was all about crying in the kitchen. Which only made me appreciate Claire, and her gorgeous new book, even more. I love me a good Like Water for Chocolate moment.
But I digress. The first recipe that jumped out at me from the cookbook was simply titled: Beer Brownies. See, I just happened to have a bottle of Mexican chocolate stout in my fridge. And the idea of cooking with it instead of drinking it just made me really, seriously excited. So while this recipe calls for regular old stout (or cold coffee), I loved using this Mexican chocolate ale, which was delicately flavored with vanilla, cinnamon, and Ancho chile.
The beer lends these brownies a depth and maltiness that you just can’t quite get otherwise. This is a serious coup d’brownie, and one I’ll be making often. I’ve included some variations from Claire’s original, in case you want to make a Mexican chocolate version. But I’m sure you’d be just fine with regular stout, or even the coffee variation she suggests.
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour
- ¼ cup cocoa powder I used Ghirardelli’s
- ½ tsp . sea salt I used well crushed Maldon flakes
- 2 pinches cinnamon optional
- 1 pinch chili powder optional
- 1 Tbsp stick salted butter 8 .
- 3 1/2 oz . semi-sweet chocolate
- ½ cup chocolate stout or other dark beer or cold coffee
- 4 eggs at room temperature
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tsp . vanilla extract
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º. Grease and lightly flour a 9”x13” baking pan.
- Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and any spices desired.
- Bring a small pot of water to boil—one that you can rest a heat-proof bowl on top of in which you will melt the chocolate. In a separate pan, melt the butter, swirling occasionally until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
- When the water is boiling, set the bowl on top of it and add the chocolate chips so that they’re evenly receiving the heat. Stir with a rubber spatula as they begin to melt, until they’re fully melted. Add in the melted butter and the stout and mix thoroughly.
- Beat the eggs and sugar until the mixture is shiny, about 2 minutes, using an electric mixer. Then begin to add in the dry and wet ingredients, alternating until they are fully incorporated. Add the vanilla and beat another moment, then fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula.
- Pour into the pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, until the middle is set and the edges are firm. Let cool completely in the pan before serving.
