Patty O'Brownies

Making new friends. Sometimes that is easier said than done.  Elementary school? If you just offer to share your crayons or your snack you have a best friend. Middle school, well that's a beast of a different color and we won't go into that trauma here. As an adult and you've moved halfway around the world......you require nerves of steel, a little luck and perhaps a few gin and tonics.

I happened to not need the G&T's (well at least to not make friends) but fell into a big pot of lucky gold as far as friends go. One of these women who has blessed me with her friendship also happens to have a wicked sense of humor and is gifted in the hospitality department. Translation: she throws great parties.

This past weekend was her annual St. Patty's Day party.  Besides the wearin' o' the green, we feasted on Corned Beef sandwiches, a not so traditional but still green guacamole, Green Beer and Bog Margaritas (beer margaritas with a lot of green food coloring thrown in) and I brought along Irish Car Bomb cupcakes. I first found the recipe at Smitten Kitchen for a Guinness Stout cupcake with Irish Whiskey ganache filling and Bailey's Irish Cream frosting. That's a mouthful to type, but they've become a St. Patrick's Day staple around these parts, you should check them out.

And this year, in honor of the party on her newly renovated Patio, I made Irish Whiskey Brownies. Get it, Patty O'Brownies....They are deeply chocolaty, moist, and you get just a sense of the whiskey.  They're not boozy, the whiskey is just a background note breaking up the intensity of the chocolate.

For Lisa:
Irish Whiskey Brownies

The Brownie
5 ounces unsweetened chocolate
12 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
9 tablespoons Irish Whiskey, such as Jameson’s
4 large eggs
1 cup all purpose flour
The Glaze
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 package semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 325 F. Lightly grease a 9 inch baking pan.

Melt the chocolate and butter together in a double boiler or a bowl set on top of a pan of barely simmering water, do not allow the bowl to touch the water. Stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth, remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool for 5 minutes.

Place the sugar in a medium size mixing bowl, and pour in the chocolate mixture. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, mix until blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Add the vanilla and 6 tablespoons of the Whiskey. With the mixer on, add the eggs one at a time until the yolk is just blended after each addition. Scrape the bowl and blend until the mixture is velvety.

Add the flour on low speed and mix for about 20 seconds. Finish the mixing with a rubber spatula, making certain to incorporate any flour at the bottom of the bowl.

Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Bake the brownies in the center rack of the oven until a thin crust forms on top and a tester inserted in the center come out with moist crumbs. 45-50 minutes.

Transfer the pan to a wire rack and using a small pastry brush glaze the surface of the brownie with the remaining 3 tablespoons ofWhiskey. Allow to cool for at least one hour.

When the brownies are cool, prepare the glaze: Place the sweetened condensed milk and chocolate chips in a sauce pan. Over medium low heat melt them together. Stir until very smooth and shiny. This amount makes for a very thick layer of glaze, I only use half of the glaze and use the rest on ice cream.

Using a frosting spatula spread the glaze evenly over the surface of the brownie Place the pan in the refrigerator for 2-4 hours so the glaze will set and it is easier to cut the brownies’. Cut them into 1 ½ inch squares.