Bourbon Brownies
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A few years ago my sister posted something on Facebook about the bourbon brownies she was making and I’ve been kind of obsessed with the concept ever since. Chocolate and bourbon united together in brownie form? What more could you ask for? How about this: they’re only 150 calories a pop!
Joseph and I have a couple of sporting wagers with my sister and her husband a couple of times a year, but the big one is March Madness. I’m not sure why that’s the big one since the three of them are all really into college football (personally I’d pick a good movie or an episode of Breaking Bad over most games regardless of the sport), but for March Madness we have the Mad Cow Cup. It’s literally a just coffee mug that Joseph customized online with a cartoon cow face and with “Mad Cow Cup” written over it, but it’s a big deal because the winning couple gets the cup and bragging rights over the losing couple.
Last year we won (no doubt due to my incredible lack of knowledge of basketball), so they had to relinquish the title and send the Mad Cow Cup to us. We got the huge bonus of not just the cup, but some bags of tea and hot chocolate, and best of all, these bourbon brownies. It was a pretty sweet way to celebrate our hard earned victory.
When we were figuring out our menu for the Super Bowl, I had to add brownies to the list. My mind immediately went to my absolute favorite brownie recipe of all time, but frankly, I’m still paying for the caloric overload of the holidays. And then I remembered these brownies. They’re from Cooking Light so they’re healthier than most brownies, and best of all, they have bourbon in them. Perfect.
The bourbon is subtle, but it’s definitely there and best of all, it really brings out the chocolate in the brownies. They smell amazing from start to finish. Joseph walked into the kitchen just as I was melting the chocolate in the bourbon and I was nearly had to beat him away with a spoon. Truth be told, I nearly needed to beat myself away with a spoon. Because come on, it’s bourbon and chocolate!!
Bourbon Brownies
Adapted from Cooking Light
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup bourbon
- 1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/3 cups sugar
- 6 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- Cooking spray
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Bring the bourbon to a boil in a small saucepan; remove from heat. Add the chocolate chips and stir until smooth.
- Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt, stirring with a whisk.
- Combine the sugar and butter in a large bowl and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well combined. Add the vanilla and eggs and beat well. Add the flour mixture and bourbon mixture to the sugar mixture, beating at low speed just until combined.
- Spread batter into a 9-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack.