Best Bourbon Fudge Brownies Recipes

THE BEST FUDGY BROWNIES

Steps:

• Arrange a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Spray a 13-by-9-inch baking pan, preferably metal, with nonstick baking spray. Line the pan with parchment paper leaving a 2-inch overhang on the longer sides. Lightly coat with nonstick spray.
• Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat, swirling occasionally, until the butter is a deep golden color, about 5 minutes; the butter will hiss and spit as the whey evaporates so be careful. As the foam subsides the butter will go from a canary yellow color to golden. When it does, take it off the heat. Add the chocolate and cream to the butter and let it sit, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate is melted.
• Sift the flour and cocoa powder through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium bowl. Beat the granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, vanilla, espresso powder and eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Start on low speed and gradually increase to high speed until the eggs are pale, very thick and fluffy, about 8 minutes (start your timer when you get to high speed). Do not be tempted to skimp on the mix time; this step is key to getting the signature shiny, crackled brownie top. Reduce the speed to low and slowly pour the warm chocolate into the eggs; beat until completely incorporated. Gradually add the dry ingredients and beat until just combined; do not overmix. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and fold until the batter is completely combined.
• Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the brownies are glossy and just barely firm, and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 205 degrees F, 25 to 35 minutes. Don't let the thermometer touch the bottom of the pan or you will get a much higher reading. (The cook time will be at the higher end of the range if using a glass or ceramic baking dish.)
• Let the brownies cool completely to allow the crumb to set before slicing, about 3 hours.
• Use an offset spatula to loosen the brownies from the sides of the pan. Use the parchment overhang to lift the brownies out of the pan. Remove the parchment and cut into 24 squares.

KENTUCKY BOURBON BROWNIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.
• Place butter and chocolate in the top of a double boiler over simmering water. Stir frequently, scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula to avoid scorching, until chocolate is melted, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool completely, 10 to 15 minutes.
• While chocolate cools, sift flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl.
• Beat eggs in a bowl using an electric stand mixer or hand mixer until almost light in color. Mix in bourbon and vanilla extract. Gradually mix in sugar until well blended. Stir in chocolate-butter mixture. Stir in flour mixture until combined, scraping down sides of the bowl as needed. Fold in pecans. Spread brownie mixture into the prepared pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until edges pull away from the sides of the pan, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.

BOURBON BROWNIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8-inch baking pan.
• Stir sugar, melted butter, cocoa powder, oil, and vanilla extract together until smooth. Mix in eggs, then add bourbon.
• Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl. Add to the cocoa mixture. Smooth batter into the prepared pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until top is dry and edges have started to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely before slicing.

FUDGE BROWNIES

Steps:

• Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat a baking pan with cooking spray.
• In a small saucepan, combine the butter and chopped chocolate and set over very low heat until melted. Stir the mixture and set aside to cool. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Measure the sugar into the large bowl of an electric mixer and beat in the cooled butter-chocolate mixture. Add the egg plus whites, vanilla, and water and beat well. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed just until blended. Don't overbeat. The batter will be thick. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and bake for 22 to 25 minutes; 23 minutes is usually right for me. When done, the top will look dry and a wooden pick inserted near the edge will come out with a few crumbs but the center will look slightly gooey. Cool in the pan and cut into squares.
• I have been trying for a couple of years to produce a brownie worthy of the name with less fat and less solid chocolate. My taste testers finally agree that this is it - a great brownie they would never suspect of being lower in anything. I have cut the classic 58 percent down to 31 percent calories from fat and eliminated 87 calories, 10 g fat, and 22 mg cholesterol from each brownie.
• When traditional proportions are disrupted, textures become moist and cakey at best or dry, insipid, and tough at worst. One rule emerges clearly: The fewer ingredients, the better the brownie. Avoid the usual low-fat stand-ins: applesauce, yogurt, corn syrup, canola oil. Use butter, but less, and replace most of the solid chocolate with rich-tasting Dutch-processed cocoa; retain at least 1 ounce of solid chocolate, however, for a more complex chocolate taste. A few tricks: Cake flour produced a more tender crumb than all-purpose, and melting the butter with the chocolate, as opposed to creaming the solid butter with the sugar, gave a fudgier crumb. A touch of baking powder seems to enhance the crunch of the top crust.
• Faced with the choice of adding high-fat chopped nuts or keeping the 1/4 cup butter, there was no contest; nuts put us over the top in fat content. However, if you feel deprived without them, sprinkle about 3 tablespoons of finely chopped walnuts on top before baking; the changes are modest: 33 percent calories from fat, plus 9 calories and 1g fat per brownie.

BEST-EVER BOURBON BROWNIES

Steps:

• Grease an 8x8x2-inch baking pan;set aside;Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a medium saucepan, combine the 1/3 cup butter, sugar and water; cook and stir over medium heat just until boiling, remove from heat, add the 1 cup of chocolate pieces; stir until chocolate is melted.
• Stir in eggs and vanilla, beating lightly with a spoon until combined; stir in flour, baking soda and salt; stir in pecans.
• Spread batter into prepared pan;Bake at 350 degrees about 20 minutes or until edges are set and begin to pull away from the sides of pan.
• Using a fork, prick the warm brownies several times, Drizzle BOURBON evenly over brownies; cool in pan on wire rack.
• For frosting; In a small mixing bowl beat the 3 tablespoons butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for about 30 seconds; gradually add powdered sugar, beating well, slowly beat in 2 teaspoons of the milk and the vanilla; if necessary, beat in remaining milk to reach spreading consistency, spread over brownies;Melt chocolate; drizzle melted chocolate over frosting.

BOURBON FUDGE BROWNIES

Steps:

• Prehat oven to 350°.
• Bring bourbon to a boil in a small saucepan, remove from heat and add chocolate chips, stirring until smooth.
• Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt and mix well with a whisk.
• Combine sugar and butter in a large bowl, beat at medium speed until well combined, then add vanilla and eggs; beat well and add flour mixture and bourbon mixture to 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° for 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
• Cool in pan on wire rack.