Black & Tan Brownies

With St. Patrick's Day around the corner, black and tan brownies are a great holiday treat! Now I'm not a fan of beer, and the recipe does call for Guinness, but I promise you can't taste it one bit. I found this recipe on FloridianWeddings (as they would make great groomsmen gifts!) so whether you're celebrating the groom or celebrating the holiday, make up a batch and enjoy!

For the Tan brownies:
* 6 Tablespoons of softened butter
* 1 1/2 cups of lightly packed brown sugar
* 2 eggs
* 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
* 1 C of all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon of baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon of salt

For the Black brownies:
* 3 ounces of dark or bittersweet chocolate
* 4 Tablespoons of butter
* 1 C of granulated sugar
* 2 eggs
* 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
* 1 C of Guinness Stout
* 1 C of all-purpose flour
* 1/4 teaspoon of salt

Preheat your oven to 350 and butter the bottom and sides of your 9x13 pan. Take a piece of parchment paper, lay it down, and butter the top of it. The point of this is to not burn the Tan brownies because they'll be in the oven twice and that will prevent that from happening. Hopefully.

To make the Tan brownies, combine your brown sugar and butter until it's light and fluffy (I gave it ample time - about 5 minutes in the mixer). Then add your eggs and vanilla. While those are mixing, combine your dry ingredients in a small bowl (the flour, baking powder, and salt). Add the dry ingredients to the mixer, beating until just combined.

Pour out the mixture into your greased-up pan and using a knife or spatula, try to make the batter as flat as possible (since you'll be adding the Black brownie mixture on top later). The original recipe suggested 15 minutes in the oven on the lowest rack but I had to double the time to 30 minutes because the batter wasn't completely baked. Every oven will be different, so be sure to stick a toothpick in the middle and if it comes out clean, then you're ready for the Black brownie mixture to be laid on top.

While the Tan brownies are baking, melt your chocolate and butter in the microwave in 10-15 second intervals until completely melted. If it helps, you can chop the chocolate before placing in the microwave. It only took me 45 seconds total - keep a watchful eye on the chocolate because you definitely don't want to burn it! 

Once it's smooth, add your sugar, eggs, vanilla, and Guinness. Be sure to stir with a whisk until it's well combined!

In a small bowl, combine your flour and salt, then add your chocolate/Guinness mixture until it's well combined.

Pour the mixture over the Tan brownies (once they're completely baked, as you don't want to mix layers) and put it in the oven on the middle rack for at least 30 minutes. The original post says 30, but I had to put them in for almost 45 before they were completely done!

Let them cool before cutting into squares and voila! Your black and tan brownies are complete! No, you won't be able to get drunk off of them (I didn't even use a full bottle!) but they will be a delicious treat for the leprechaun in your family!

TOTAL COSTS: About $30 (assuming you don't have any ingredients - prices from Vons)
$.79 for butter
$2.49 for sugar
$2.99 for eggs
$4.99 for vanilla
$1.99 for baking powder
$3.29 for flour
$2.50 for chocolate
$5.77 for Guinness 6-pack
$2.99 for parchment paper
$1.99 for salt

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: About 1 hour, 45 minutes

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 2 out of 5
If you have a difficult time making regular brownies, then this probably isn't the recipe for you. However, if that's no problem, all you're doing is making two types of brownies on top of each other. Relatively easy, looks cool, and tastes good too!