Top 10 grown-up chocolate desserts for National Chocolate Day

3. Brownies with Bourbon Buttercream and Sauce

These brownies have three parts: brownie, buttercream frosting and brown sugar sauce, each part blended with Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey liqueur. They’re a boozy chocolate dream.

Ingredients

• ⅓ cup (1 ounce) Dutch-processed cocoa
• 1 and ½ teaspoons instant espresso powder (optional)
• ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons water
• ¼ cup Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey (or bourbon)
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped fine
• ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2 large eggs plus 2 large yolks
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2½ cups sugar
• 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into ½ inch pieces

For the Bourbon Syrup:

• ¾ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup Jack Daniels Honey Whiskey
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

For the Buttercream Frosting:

• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 2-3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
• 2-4 Tbsp. Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey
• 2-4 Tbsp. heavy cream (as much as needed to get correct consistency)

Directions

To Make the Brownies:

• Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13X9 inch baking pan with foil leaving a one inch overhang on all sides. Grease foil and set aside.
• Combine water and bourbon and microwave until just boiling. Whisk cocoa, espresso powder, and boiling water/bourbon together in large bowl until smooth. Add unsweetened chocolate and whisk until chocolate is melted.
• Whisk in oil and melted butter.
• Combine eggs and egg yolks and whisk together. Add to chocolate mixture with vanilla and continue to whisk until smooth and homogeneous. Whisk in sugar until fully incorporated.
• Whisk together flour and salt in small bowl and then mix into batter with rubber spatula until combined. Fold in bittersweet chocolate pieces.
• Transfer batter to prepared pan; spread batter into corners of pan and smooth surface. Bake until toothpick inserted in center of brownies comes out with few moist crumbs attached, 30 to 35 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.
• Transfer pan to wire rack and let cool for 1 and ½ hours.
• Remove brownies from pan using foil. Return brownies to wire rack and let cool completely, about 1 hour. Cut brownies into 2 inch squares and cover. (Store in airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.)
To Make the Bourbon Drizzle:
• Add all ingredients together in a small pan, bring to a boil and boil for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool before drizzling on cupcakes.

To Make the Buttercream Frosting:

• In a large bowl, combine butter, bourbon, and powdered sugar. Mix on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add cream until the desired consistency is reached. The frosting should hold its shape, but be easy to spread.
To Assemble:
• Pipe or dollop frosting on top of each brownie; drizzle with the Bourbon syrup.

Recipe and photo provided courtesy of Creative Culinary