Decadent Fudgy Guinness Brownies: The Ultimate Chocolate Stout Dessert

Indulge in these incredibly rich and fudgy Guinness Brownies, a homemade chocolate stout brownie recipe crafted from scratch with premium stout beer and finished with a luscious, easy chocolate glaze. Whether you’re celebrating St. Patrick’s Day or simply yearning for an extraordinary chocolate dessert any time of year, one bite of these will convince you they are an absolute must-make. Prepare to fall in love with the sophisticated blend of deep chocolate and malty stout.

It’s truly astonishing how often I overlook the magical combination of chocolate and stout beer until March arrives. Then, like clockwork, the craving hits, and I wonder why this glorious pairing isn’t a year-round staple in my kitchen!

Seriously, someone needs to remind me why I don’t merge these two delightful ingredients more frequently. They complement each other with the same harmonious perfection as peanut butter and jelly, salt and pepper, or cream and sugar. Their flavors are simply meant to be together.

I’ve long harbored the desire to craft the ultimate fudgy Guinness Brownies, but each year, various distractions seem to pull me away from this delectable dream. Not this year, though. This is the year we embrace the glory of beer brownies in all their fine, fudgy splendor.

Let’s not dwell on the exact number of stout brownies I consumed, but I will confess that I was quite relieved to give them away the very next day. Keeping such a dangerously delicious batch within reach would have been a true test of willpower!

To elevate these homemade Guinness Brownies even further, I adorned them with a delicate, thin chocolate glaze. After all, who wants to savor a “naked” brownie when it can be elegantly dressed?

What is Stout Beer and Why is it Perfect for Baking?

Stout beer is a distinct category of dark beer, renowned for its smooth body, often featuring a heavy, creamy head. Among all stouts, Guinness is arguably the most globally recognized, especially gaining popularity around St. Patrick’s Day. Its iconic deep ruby-black color and unique flavor profile make it a star ingredient in many culinary creations.

My personal go-to for baking these chocolate stout brownies is always Guinness. Its characteristic notes of roasted barley, coffee, and subtle chocolate beautifully enhance the richness of cocoa and unsweetened chocolate in the brownie batter. However, don’t feel limited! Many local breweries produce fantastic stouts that are equally wonderful for baking. If you’re in Pittsburgh, for example, you’ll find several excellent craft stouts that could lend a unique regional twist to your brownies. Experimenting with different stouts can introduce varying nuances – from an oatmeal stout offering extra creaminess to a milk stout adding a touch of sweetness.

When stout is incorporated into baked goods, the alcohol content mostly evaporates during the baking process, leaving behind its complex flavors. This means you get all the depth and character of the beer without the alcoholic kick, making these brownies suitable for everyone to enjoy.

Essential Ingredients for Decadent Guinness Brownies

To create these incredible beer brownies, you’ll need a carefully selected list of ingredients that work together to achieve their fudgy texture and intense chocolate flavor. Quality ingredients make a noticeable difference in the final product:

• Unsalted Butter: Always opt for real unsalted butter. It provides essential fat for moisture, richness, and aids in creating that desired fudgy texture. Unsalted butter allows you to control the total salt content in your recipe.
• Unsweetened Chocolate: This is crucial for a truly rich and deep chocolate taste that cocoa powder alone cannot fully achieve. It provides a foundational intensity, allowing the other chocolate elements to shine.
• Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: Adds another layer of chocolate complexity and contributes to the dark color and slightly bitter notes that balance the sweetness. For an even richer, darker brownie, consider using Dutch-processed cocoa powder.
• Granulated Sugar: Since both unsweetened chocolate and cocoa powder are used, sugar is vital for sweetness, but also plays a key role in the brownie’s texture, contributing to its chewiness and moistness.
• Table Salt: Often underestimated, salt is a flavor enhancer that prevents your brownies from tasting bland. It sharpens the chocolate notes and balances the sweetness.
• Large Egg: A standard large egg acts as a binder, providing structure and richness to the brownies. It also helps with emulsification, creating a smoother batter. Make sure it’s at room temperature for better incorporation.
• Vanilla Extract: A classic pairing with chocolate, vanilla doesn’t just add its own flavor but also enhances and brightens the chocolate notes, making them taste even better and more complex.
• Guinness Stout Beer: The star of these chocolate stout brownies! Guinness provides moisture, a unique malty depth, and subtle roasted notes that are incredibly harmonious with the chocolate. It adds a sophisticated twist you won’t get with water or milk.
• All-Purpose Flour: Provides the necessary structure to the batter. This particular brownie recipe uses a slightly higher amount of flour than some fudgier recipes to account for the extra liquid introduced by the stout beer, ensuring the perfect balance between fudgy and stable.
• Semisweet Chocolate Chips: These are stirred into the batter to provide additional bursts of melted chocolate and a lovely textural contrast, ensuring every bite is intensely chocolatey.
• Semisweet Chocolate (for the Glaze): Used for the simple, shiny glaze on top. Choose a good quality chocolate for the best melting consistency and flavor.

What can I substitute for Guinness stout in a brownie recipe?

If you prefer not to use beer in your recipe, a fantastic substitute that still enhances the chocolate flavor is an equal amount of strong brewed coffee. The bitterness and dark roasted notes of coffee mimic some of the qualities of stout, creating a wonderfully rich chocolate brownie without any alcohol.

If neither beer nor coffee appeals to you, or you’re looking for a different kind of brownie experience, I recommend exploring other trusted recipes. My Small Batch Fudge Brownies or Peanut Butter Brownies are excellent alternatives that deliver their own unique deliciousness without the need for dark liquids.

Understanding and Substituting Unsweetened Chocolate

Unsweetened chocolate, also known as baking chocolate or bitter chocolate, is precisely what its name implies: chocolate with absolutely no sugar added. On its own, it has an intensely bitter flavor that most people find unpalatable. However, this characteristic makes it the perfect foundation for chocolate desserts like these Guinness brownies.

Using unsweetened chocolate allows you complete control over the sweetness level of your final product. You can add just the right amount of sugar to achieve your desired balance, resulting in a deep, complex chocolate flavor that isn’t overly sweet.

If your pantry is missing unsweetened baking chocolate, don’t fret! Here are a couple of handy substitutions:

• Semisweet Chocolate Substitution: If you have semisweet chocolate on hand, you can substitute it for unsweetened chocolate. However, because semisweet chocolate contains sugar, you’ll need to adjust the recipe accordingly. Reduce the granulated sugar in the brownie batter down to 1 cup to prevent your brownies from becoming excessively sweet.
• Cocoa Powder + Oil Substitution: If you don’t have any baking chocolate (unsweetened or semisweet), you can create a substitute using cocoa powder and a neutral oil. For every 1 ounce of unsweetened chocolate, use 3 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder combined with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil (or another neutral-flavored oil). So, for this recipe’s 2 ounces of unsweetened chocolate, you would use 6 tablespoons of cocoa powder and 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil.

How to Master Making Guinness Brownies from Scratch

Creating this Guinness brownie recipe from scratch is surprisingly straightforward, proving there’s absolutely no need to reach for a store-bought brownie mix. What’s even better is that the entire batter comes together in just one saucepan on the stovetop, significantly cutting down on cleanup time!

Here’s a detailed guide to crafting your perfect chocolate stout brownies:

1. Prepare Your Pan & Oven: Begin by preheating your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line an 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides. This creates “handles” that will make it incredibly easy to lift the brownies out of the pan once they’re cooled, allowing for clean cuts.
2. Melt Butter and Unsweetened Chocolate: In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over low heat, melt the unsalted butter and chopped unsweetened chocolate together. Stir continuously until the mixture is completely smooth and free of any lumps. Remove the saucepan from the heat as soon as it’s melted to prevent scorching.
3. Whisk in Dry Sweeteners: While off the heat, whisk in the granulated sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. At this stage, the mixture will appear quite thick and grainy. Don’t panic – this is perfectly normal and part of the process of building the fudgy texture. Keep whisking until well combined.
4. Incorporate Wet Ingredients: Next, whisk in the large egg and vanilla extract. As you beat these in, you’ll notice the batter miraculously transform, becoming smoother and more moist. Continue whisking until the egg is fully incorporated and the batter is homogeneous.
5. Add the Guinness: Pour in the stout beer. The batter will become noticeably looser and quite thin at this point. Again, don’t worry! It will thicken considerably once the flour is added. Whisk until the beer is fully combined.
6. Fold in Flour and Chocolate Chips: Switch to a rubber spatula. Gently stir in the all-purpose flour until just combined. Be careful not to overmix the batter, as overworking the flour can lead to tougher, more cake-like brownies instead of the desired fudgy texture. Finally, fold in the semisweet chocolate chips.
7. Bake to Perfection: Pour the batter into your prepared 8×8-inch pan, spreading it evenly. Bake for 25-30 minutes. To test for doneness, look for the edges to begin pulling away slightly from the sides of the pan, and the center should no longer appear wet or jiggly. A toothpick inserted a couple of inches from the edge should come out with moist crumbs, not wet batter. Crucially, avoid overbaking, as this is the most common mistake that leads to dry, cakey brownies rather than delightfully fudgy ones.
8. Cool Completely: Once baked, remove the pan from the oven and let the brownies cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. This is a critical step for achieving the perfect fudgy texture and ensuring the glaze sets properly. Rushing this step will result in a messy glaze and potentially crumbly brownies.
9. Prepare and Apply the Glaze: While the brownies cool, make the chocolate glaze. In a small heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water (ensure the bowl does not touch the water), melt together the chopped semisweet chocolate and butter until smooth and glossy. Once the brownies are completely cool, pour or spread the warm glaze evenly over the top.
10. Set the Glaze and Serve: Allow the glaze to set and harden before cutting into squares. You can speed up this process by chilling the brownies in the refrigerator for about 15-30 minutes. Once the glaze is firm, use the parchment paper handles to lift the entire slab of brownies from the pan and slice them into your desired serving size.

Store these delectable chocolate stout brownies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. If your kitchen is particularly warm, especially during summer months, or if you prefer a firmer glaze, you can refrigerate them. Just be sure to bring them back to room temperature for optimal flavor and texture before serving.

Will I get drunk from baking with beer? The Science of Alcohol in Baking

If you’re new to the wonderful world of baking with alcohol, you might naturally wonder about the effects of consuming these Guinness brownies. Rest assured, there’s no need for concern! During the baking process, a significant portion of the alcohol content evaporates. While the exact percentage of alcohol that cooks off can vary based on baking time, temperature, and surface area, studies show that a good amount dissipates, leaving behind the rich, complex flavors of the stout beer without imparting the intoxicating effects of drinking alcohol.

This means you absolutely won’t get drunk from enjoying these Guinness brownies. You can confidently serve them to everyone at your table, including children and those who prefer to avoid alcohol. The beer’s primary role in this recipe is to contribute a unique depth of flavor, moisture, and a subtle malty note that beautifully complements the chocolate, rather than to deliver an alcoholic kick.

More Delicious Guinness Recipes to Explore

Since you’ll likely have some Guinness stout leftover after making these incredible brownies, why not put it to good use in other delightful recipes? Guinness is a versatile ingredient that adds richness to both sweet and savory dishes. Here are more fantastic recipes featuring Guinness:

• Chocolate Guinness Mousse Cups: Light, airy, and intensely flavorful.
• Mini Chocolate Guinness Cake with Irish Cream Ganache Frosting: A perfect individual dessert.
• One-Layer Chocolate Stout Cake (8 Inch): A classic for a crowd.
• Chocolate Stout Skillet Cake: A rustic and comforting dessert.
• Guinness Shepherd’s Pie for Two: A savory twist on a classic.
• Chocolate Guinness Cookies from Confessions of a Baking Queen: For cookie lovers.

Guinness Brownies

Yield:
8-10 servings

Prep Time:
15 minutes

Cook Time:
35 minutes

Total Time:
50 minutes

These decadent fudgy Guinness Brownies are chocolate stout brownies made from scratch with stout beer and topped with an easy chocolate glaze.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (4 ounces or 8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 + 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup stout beer, such as Guinness*
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

For the glaze

• 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 tablespoons (1 ounce) unsalted butter

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper.
2. In a large saucepan, melt together the butter and unsweetened chocolate.
3. Remove from the heat and whisk in the cocoa, sugar, and salt (mixture will be grainy – keep going).
4. Beat in the egg and vanilla then whisk in the beer.
5. Switch to a rubber spatula then stir in the flour and chocolate chips, being careful not to overwork the batter.
6. Spread the batter into the pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or the edges pull away from the pan and the middle no longer looks wet. Cool completely.
7. Once the brownies are cool, make the glaze: In a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (do not let the bowl touch the water), melt together the semisweet chocolate and butter until smooth.
8. Spread on top of the brownies and let harden before serving (you can chill in the refrigerator to speed up the process).

   Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Refrigerate if the glaze gets too soft from a warm kitchen.

Notes

• To substitute for beer, use an equal amount of coffee.
• Don’t drink coffee either? Check out my Small Batch Fudge Brownie recipeinstead.

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• 8×8 Square Pan

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First published March 5, 2015, this timeless recipe continues to be a favorite for its unparalleled fudgy texture and rich flavor.