My evil Irish twin put me up to these.
Now, before you judge him too harshly, a few things to keep in mind: these are flourless, low sugar, flavonoid rich dark chocolate brownies. Very respectable as treats go.
And the taste? Imagine the rich, velvety, melt-in-your-mouth moistness of chocolate torte combined with the earthy notes of Guinness and the textured crunch of pecan. Yup. You’ll want to be putting these puppies on your St.Paddy’s Day party list!
- 300 grams 75% cocoa chocolate, (3 large bars) I use Lindt
- 1/3 cup butter
- 1/3 cup demerara sugar
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 tsp corn starch
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans + a few whole ones for topping
- 3 eggs
- 4 ounces (1/2 cup), stout beer such as Guinness
—————–
Notes:
I made these brownies twice (all part of the sacrifices I make for my readers). In my first batch, I used a dark Muskoka ale with caramel and chocolate notes that was lovely. In my second batch, I made a few happy adjustments to the recipe and used Guinness. Hard to go wrong with Guinness… but, if you can’t get your hands on it or don’t like it, any stout or dark ale is workable.
I should also say that these brownies work equally well without alcohol so it remains, as always, optional.
In a sturdy pot on stove set to the lowest temperature, melt butter and chocolate.
As difficult as it may be (!), allow the brownies to cool on a rack for 30 minutes before slicing. This allows the flourless brownies precious setting time – but don’t worry, they will still taste every bit as delicious. If you slice into them ahead of schedule, they’ll crumble all over the place and you’ll be disappointed.
Enjoy!
Oh this recipe is a keeper!
i never heard of a GF brownie with guinness. this must have been decadent!
thanks so much Magic of Spice ~
Nope – much of the alcohol burns off in the cooking process but it sure tastes great – rich, earthy, delicious. Thanks Christy.
I keep coming across references to Guinness gingerbread… I must try… :)
Clearly, you were not raised in an Irish home – LOL!! I like to think there’s a little Irish in all of us ;-)
I like your attitude Jen! :)
Hello Anne! I’m not sure they’re entirely guilt-free – lol – but not as bad as many other variations… I’m coming over to visit your green :)
too funny, the only ‘other’ time we make brownies is when my husband has his poker buddies over – guy thing ;-)
I love flourless baking – for this recipe it ends up creating a dense and delicious torte like texture…mmm….
Hee.hee…thanks for stopping by :)
These are like a special brownie… definitely worthwhile! Thanks Reem ;-)
Thanks Stephanie – small slices work well to satisfy :)
Hello Lemon – I’m definitely nuts about nuts and feel that there’s something missing when they are absent from baking…
Haha, thanks Chris – hope your week is going well.
Bonjour Helene, haha, I wish I had some left too! ;-)
really? how fun.
They went pretty quick on this end! :) Thanks Kristy.
Thanks Eva!
Hi Sissi! chocolate and guinness is a beautiful thing ;-) I’ll have to try the gingerbread variation at some point… a couple of people have mentioned that combination; sounds yummy.
Thanks for dropping in Medeja!
Thanks Angie – they turned out quite well…
Haha, I’ll let her know… Thanks Kay!!
Thanks Vivienne ~ what a nice compliment!
Rather moist indeed a bit like a truffle or torte… yum!! :)
Thanks France… it’s a rich, delicious flavour.
Guinness ice cream?! OMG! :)
Ah yes, I had to go back and look at your delight again… gorgeous cake indeed Charles!
yes, I’ve come across the gingerbread before but have not made them myself, sounds yummy though. I’m more of a pure, dark chocolate gal ;-) Thanks Vicki.
haha! Thanks Elly :)
Thanks Sally! I don’t think of the Irish as being proper but I’m glad someone does ;-)
Yes indeed, anything to justify my love of dark chocolate ;-)
haha, sounds like a good plan to me Karen, thanks.
what a great name, truffle brownies… indeed!
Wow, these look so chocolaty and dense…lovely recipe!
Wow, now Guinness is even used in brownies, hope it doesn’t make one drunk, LOL!:p Definitely sinful yet delightfully creative, and the colors definitely belong to the same family ;)
I have heard of people using Guinness and Coke in cooking too :D
What a great recipe for St. Paddy’s Day. I made a Guinness gingerbread cake over the holidays that was a huge hit here (and at work). Who knew that Guinness was such a confectionery ingredient?
Thank you so much for visiting Mary and Welcome to Inspired Edibles!
Beer and chocolate? Never expected such combination before but looks rich and delicious! Haha, agree with Jen, bring the evil Irish twin out more often. =)
I quite like your evil Irish twin – you should let her out to play more often!
Kelly….these guilt free brownies look fabulous! Rich and fudgy! Great minds think alike….or I guess it’s just the upcoming holiday….that has us all bringing out our Irish recipes! And your pictures….they are always so amazing! : )
These really sound rich and delicious. This is my first visit to your blog, so I took some time to browse through your earlier posts. I’m so glad I did that. I really like the food and recipes you share with your readers and I’ll definitely be back. I hope you have a great day. Blessings…Mary
Oh, this would be perfect for when my husband has his friends over for cards! I wonder how it would taste with some Irish creme? have a great day! :)
I’ve never thought of a flour-less brownie! These look so good, I totally wouldn’t feel guilty for having a few of these after dinner!
but how do you really feel? ;-)
Love, love, love, love, love, love this recipe!
I think I could definitely be friends with this evil Irish twin. These look fantastic!
You know Kelly I have such weakness for Brownies..
These are just perfect, I can eat them and not feel bad too…
Perfect…
Hey, no judging here! Sometimes you have to enjoy a treat! And I love the low-carb aspect of these! They look so rich and delicious!
Ah, careful… Gluten, as your friends will attest, manages to find its way into all kinds of things – food, drink, even envelop ‘glue’ ! I do believe Guinness is brewed from malted barley and, like most beer, would contain gluten. There are some gluten free beers on the market though, if you wanted to check it out. Cheers Eva!
Yikes! Who would have thought!
I like this evil twin! The brownies look amazing and with my ever growing list of gluten intolerant friends, you can bet I shall be making them soon. Thanks
These brownies look great. I especially like you include pecans, yum.
I’m imagining, I’m imagining, but I REALLY want the real thing! YUM!!!
Thats torture, we are in lent! O.O
Big hole in my stomache, could you please send some of your choco brownies, please?
Happily, you can eliminate both in this recipe! Cheers TammyJo.
I’m sending this recipe to my friend whose name is Guinness!
Darn, two things we can’t have in the house — tree nuts and alcohol.
Your evil Irish twin. LOL. Well, my kids would certainly get along with this twin of yours. ;) I doubt there would be many left by the end of a day or two if they had their way.
These sound and look seriously delicious, Kelly. So chocolatey and moist. This is going into my recipe book for sure! Thanks
Kelly, this is particularly dangerous! First, it makes me want to run to the kitchen and garb some chocolate just to survive after having read your post and stared at the appetising photos. It also reminds me of my Guinness gingerbread. last, but not least, this makes me want to bake these brownies straight away. I love Guinness on its own, but it also makes miracles when added to cakes, so I can imagine how terrific the taste is.
Such a sinful and great treat!
A really unique brownie recipe. I would really love to try it too.
Can you just tell your evil Irish Twin.. that I think she’s GREAT!!! lol. You know how I feel about chocolate. I’ve never been so excited about eating healthy in my life, and that’s all because of your wonderful blog. Thank you :)
These would make perfect snacks! I love all of your recipes, so original and delicious! :)
http://www.vivikstyle.blogspot.com
–Kelly,
These “Sins” look like fudge.
Oh, Myyyyyyyyyyy, How I adore fudge.
Fab-Tab-U- Lousssss.
Xxxxx
Good thing your evil twin put you up to these because they look great!
sounds like death by delight to me – hee.hee – Cheers Laura.
Oh, how I love Guinness and chocolate! I didn’t something like this car bomb-style with cupcakes one year – they were filled with Jameson ganache and iced with Irish cream vanilla icing. I died.
Very reasonable at treats go! Absolutely. I am a sucker for chocolate stout cake so this is definitely on the TO MAKE list.
Mouth. Watering! I want to make these brownies and then I want to make a guinness ice cream and crumble these brownies into the guinness ice cream and then I want to eat it and smile :D lol!
These look amazing Kelly – so moist – almost like a cake version of of a chocolate mousse. Nice to see other recipes with Guinness inside after my cake from a few weeks ago. Isn’t chocolate and Guinness such an amazing combination?
I’ve never made brownies with stout beer but have made a gingerbread cake with it and it was wonderful. I’m definitely trying these next time I decide to make brownies. I’m sure they’re delicious!
These look amazing. Want one now please.
We are on similar pages of a beautiful book…
I made choc stout cake with a beer brewed by one of our grad students, and of course took the results of such important experiment back to the lab, so everyone could taste it ;-)
I don’t drink beer, but love to cook with it
Your double choc brownies look delish, love the addition of pecans on top gave that a very distinguished look. Very proper. Very Irish…
;-)
Oh yum! Great idea for a wonderful treat. I’m with you on the flourless flavonoid-rich – sounds like an excellent justification :)
I think my husband could sacrifice a bottle of his favorite beer so that I could make these delicious brownies.
Oh my these look seriously decadent…like truffle brownies! YUM.
Growing up in Dublin! Wow, a true Irishman… (the rest of us mostly pretend ;-). Top of the afternoon to you ~ thanks so much for stopping by; much appreciated.
I am sure these are delicious. For some reason they just triggered a memory of being able to smell the roasting hops coming from the Guinness Brewery when I was growing up in DUblin…