Chocolate Guinness Brownies
These decadent fudgy Chocolate Guinness Brownies are chocolate stout brownies made from scratch with stout beer and topped with an easy chocolate glaze. Whether you make them for St. Patrick’s Day or make them all year round, one thing is for sure – you need to make them ASAP.
Someone remind me why I don’t pair chocolate and beer all year long?
They go hand in hand like peanut butter and jelly, salt and pepper, cream and sugar.
For the past several years, I’ve been wanting to pair them together in these fudgy Chocolate Guinness Brownies, but every year I somehow get distracted.
Not this year. This is the year of the Guinness brownie in all its fine fudgy glory.
We are not going to discuss how many brownies I ate, but I will say I’m glad I gave them away the next day because it would’ve been too dangerous to keep around.
To make these chocolate stout brownies from scratch even better, I topped them with a thin chocolate glaze so they weren’t so naked.
Who wants to eat a naked brownie anyway?
This time of year with St. Patrick’s Day coming up, I always get “homesick” for Ireland as it’s been 8 years since studying abroad in Limerick.
In fact, I just finished up a conversation with a few people about our trips to Ireland. I cannot wait to plan a trip back.
One of the things I regret not doing in Ireland was visiting the Guinness factory. Back then, I wasn’t a huge foodie like I am now.
In fact, it was probably the year where I learned how much I really loved being around food as it was the first year I was forced to cook on my own and when I started my blog.
Someday I plan on going back to Ireland to revisit the landscape and to focus on the food scene.
What is stout beer?
Stout beer refers to any dark beer with a smooth body and a heavy, creamy head. Guinness is the most popular stout.
Guinness is my go-to stout beer, but you can also use local stouts too. I know a few breweries in Pittsburgh that make a great stout beer for baking.
How To Make Brownies From Scratch
Making brownies from scratch is SO easy, there’s no need to buy brownie mix.
The brownie batter is made all in one pan on the stovetop, meaning less dishes to wash.
First, you melt together the butter and chocolate. Then you whisk in your cocoa powder, sugar, and salt.
It’ll look grainy, but this is perfectly fine. Whisk in your egg and vanilla to smooth out the batter then whisk in the beer.
Finally, stir in your flour to thicken the batter.
How To Bake Brownies With Beer
If you’re new to baking with alcohol, don’t worry – a good bit of the alcohol bakes off, leaving behind the flavor and not so much the effects of drinking alcohol.
That means you won’t get drunk from eating these Guinness brownies and can serve them to everyone, including kids.
What can I use instead of beer?
Don’t want to use Guinness in your recipe? Substitute an equal amount of coffee. The coffee will still enhance the chocolate flavor.
Don’t want to use coffee either? You’re better off making my Small Batch Fudge Brownies recipe instead.
This recipe has been developed to compensate for the extra liquid, so simply leaving it out won’t work.
How To Substitute For Unsweetened Chocolate
Unsweetened chocolate is chocolate without any sugar added to it (hence the name). This is most definitely something you don’t want to eat on its own.
However, it’s the perfect base for chocolate desserts because you control the amount of sugar added.
If you don’t have any unsweetened baking chocolate in your pantry, you can easily substitute semisweet chocolate. Reduce the sugar down to 1 cup.
If you don’t have any baking chocolate at all, you can substitute 6 tablespoons cocoa powder + 2 tablespoons vegetable oil.
How do you check if brownies are done?
Fudge brownies are hard to check for doneness because a toothpick inserted in the center will come out slightly gooey.
You want this slight gooeyness because if your toothpick is clean, you overbaked your brownies.
Visually, your brownies are done with the edges pull away from the sides and the middle no longer looks wet. The center should be dry on top when you lightly touch it.
When in doubt, it’s best to underbake your brownies than to overbake them. Overbaking will result in a dry, cakey brownie.
More Guinness Recipes
Since you’ll more than likely have beer leftover, here are more recipes using Guinness:
Chocolate Stout Brownies
These decadent fudgy Chocolate Guinness Brownies are chocolate stout brownies made from scratch with stout beer and topped with an easy chocolate glaze.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (4 ounces or 8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
- 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup stout beer, such as Guinness*
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
For the glaze
- 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 2 tablespoons (1 ounce) unsalted butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper.
- In a large saucepan, melt together the butter and unsweetened chocolate.
- Remove from the heat and whisk in the cocoa, sugar, and salt (mixture will be grainy - keep going).
- Beat in the egg and vanilla then whisk in the beer.
- Switch to a rubber spatula then stir in the flour and chocolate chips, being careful not to overwork the batter.
- Spread the batter into the pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or the edges pull away from the pan and the middle no longer looks wet. Cool completely.
- Once the brownies are cool, make the glaze: In a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (do not let the bowl touch the water), melt together the semisweet chocolate and butter until smooth. Spread on top of the brownies and let harden before serving (you can chill in the refrigerator to speed up the process). Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Notes
*To substitute for beer, use an equal amount of coffee. Don't drink coffee either? Check out my Small Batch Fudge Brownie recipe instead.
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These were SO DELICIOUS. Can’t wait to try making them myself!
I’m glad everyone enjoyed them! They were so dangerous to have in my kitchen ;)
Carla, these brownies look insanely fudgy ‘n decadent (in other words, absolutely perfect!). Gorgeous photos too. I’ve never baked with Guinness but I swear, this is the year. I’m going to do it. I’m going to march my butt to the liquor store and stock up on Guinness asap.
Oh yes, they are VERY fudgy, my favorite :D And girl, you need to go pick up a bottle asap! Even if you don’t like drinking it on its own, pairing it with chocolate is more amazing than I can describe. Do it!
Chocolate and stout is such a classic pairing.. the flavours compliment each other so well – especially in baked goods! These brownies look divine and I bet tasted SO delicious.
It makes me wonder why I only pair them together for St. Patrick’s Day as I always forget how good they are together ;)
OMG these brownies look yummy
Thanks, Chichi!
These look decadent, well done! I love boozy desserts, gotta make these asap!
Thanks, Oana!
ooooh the texture of these brownies!!! and the stout would certainly make Mr. Michael happy!
Yes, he would love you if you made them for him ;)
These brownies sounds marvelous. So rich and dense…a wonderful recipe. xo, Catherine
Thanks, Catherine!
Can I omit the beer or add something else? I don’t drink alcohol AT ALL but these brownies look amazing and I really wanna try it so I was wondering if I can substitute the beer or leave it out??
Since these are chocolate STOUT brownies, I do not advise leaving out the beer as the beer contributes to the final taste. However, you may substitute an equal amount of coffee. It certainly won’t have the same taste, but it’ll still leave you with fudgy brownies.
Absolutely delicious, my colleagues went crazy for them. Topping needed doubling though; I only got a thin layer, not the rich glaze shown in your picture.
Thanks for the feedback on the topping! What size pan did you use?
Ah good call my pan was too big! About 12×8.
Yes those extra 4 inches will make a difference! My recipe calls for an 8×8 pan, which means the glaze makes only enough to cover brownies made in an 8×8 pan.
These are fantastic! I made a double batch for a St. Patrick’s Day Party and they were devoured. One batch of the glaze was sufficient for two batches of these decadent, fudge, chewy brownies.
My comment should say “fudgy” brownies, not fudge! Auto correct strikes again.
Happy you enjoyed the recipe! I personally love a thick glaze, but if you like it thinner then you can certainly use it for both batches.
I just discovered your recipes. I made the Guinness shepherds pie and these amazing fudgy brownies for dessert. I’m in heaven! These are so good and so easy. Quite glad I happened upon your site!
Wonderful! Sounds like quite the Guinness meal ;) Glad you enjoyed everything.