General Comments:

First, the picture does not do these brownies justice. I didn’t think to take any pictures during the baking process so this is a picture of a portion of the ones that I brought into share at work. These have been sitting the fridge the last couple days and I cut them into what I feel to be reasonable servings as these are DENSE and RICH. They dried out a little bit in the fridge, but not overly so and their amazing “fudgey”-ness has remained. Overall response from co-workers was positive, so we’ll mark this one as a success. (The density and fudge-like quality tended to surprise folks the most.)

Baker’s Notes:

First off, the recipe called for a 9”x 9” pan, but since I didn’t feel like making a journey to find one, I ended up using an 11” x 7” pan. I feel this resulted in the edges over-cooking slightly, but I simply cut off all the edges for serving purposes and put them in a container for the roommates to snack on -- no complaints there.

Second, once you’ve browned the butter for the icing, it would be wise to either let it cool a while or be prepared for extreme foaming/boil-over when you add the kahlua and whipping cream.

Recipe:

Prep work: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9” x 9” baking pan with foil and coat with non-stick cooking spray.

Brownie Ingredients

2½ cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1½ cups light brown sugar
2 large eggs
½ cup + 2 Tbsp. Kahlua (or another coffee liqueur), divided
~½ of a 12 oz. bag of 60% cacao chocolate chips

Brownie Directions

• In a medium bowl, sift flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
• Set a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water (pan shouldn’t be touching the water). Place butter and chocolate chips in bowl and stir until melted and smooth. Alternatively, just pop it in the microwave and apply 20 seconds bursts until sufficiently melted. After melted, let cool a bit.
• In a large bowl with an electric mixer, mix sugar, eggs and 1/2 cup Kahlua. Pour in buttery chocolate mixture and beat until mixed well. Mix in dry ingredients and beat just until combined. Fold in 60% cacao chocolate chips.
• Pour/Spread brownie batter into prepared pan (it will be thick). Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until top cracks slightly and toothpick inserted in center comes out mostly clean (it might be slightly gooey on the bottom of the toothpick, that’s fine) Remove brownies from oven and immediately brush warm brownies with 2 Tbsp. of Kahlua. Let brownies cool completely. Optional: Refrigerate them briefly after they’ve cooled a bit.

Icing Ingredients

¼ cup butter (½ stick)
2 Tbs kahlua
1 Tbs whipping cream
2¼ cups powdered sugar (more or less)

Icing Directions

• Place butter in saucepan and heat until lightly browned.
• Remove from heat and add kahlua & whipping cream.
• Whisk in powdered sugar until you have the consistency that you desire (you should be looking for a thick, smooth icing that is still pourable).
• Pour on top of cooled brownies and spread to edges to cover completely. Refrigerate until set. Chilled brownies are easiest to cut… use a large, sharp knife, wipe clean after each cut, and you’ll get nice, clean cuts.

Credit: Modified slightly from this recipe.

Tags: brownies, fudge, kahlua, icing, browned butter, recipe