Best-Ever Bourbon Brownies

Cookbook Countdown is a monthly cooking/baking event, which I'm co-hosting with Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray.  Everyone is welcome to join us. How does it work? To summarize, you may select a cookbook from your own cookbook collection, to cook or bake from each month. That selected book shall be your cookbook of the month. You may cook any recipes and as many recipes as you want from your selected book of the month. This is a fabulous way of using your cookbooks at least once! For more information on how to join Cookbook Countdown, please click here. 

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Cookbook Countdown #2 : Recipe No. 4 : Best-Ever Bourbon Brownies

from my selected cookbook for this month, Better Homes and Garden : Baking

Everyone needs a brownie every now and then! 

These brownies are not too sweet. I did not brush the top of the brownies with bourbon when the brownie has done baking. I've added 2 tablespoons of the bourbon into the batter instead. I've used dark chocolate and I can taste the slight bitterness of the chocolate with the aroma of the bourbon, very nice. The crumbs are soft and moist with a little cake-like texture. 

Bittersweet chocolaty brownies served with a  scoop of vanilla ice cream, so yummy!

Recipe comes with the Bourbon Frosting which is spread over the brownies. I have however, omitted the frosting, as we wanted to eat the brownies with vanilla ice cream. For the Bourbon Frosting recipe, please refer to the link (Better Homes and Garden website) provided in the recipe below. 

Best-Ever Bourbon Brownies
(adapted from "Better Homes and Garden : Baking", or here)
Makes 16 brownies
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter
2 tablespoons water
1 cup semisweet chocolate pieces
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
2 to 3 tablespoons bourbon
1 recipe Bourbon Frosting
2 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted
pecan halves, toasted (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8x8x2-inch baking pan with foil, extending foil about 1 inch over the edges of pan. Grease foil; set pan aside. In a medium saucepan combine sugar, butter, and the water. Cook and stir over medium heat just until boiling. Remove from heat.
2. Stir in 1 cup chocolate pieces until melted. Add eggs and vanilla, beating with a wooden spoon just until combined. Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt. (Add in 2 tablespoons bourbon). Stir in chopped pecans. Pour batter into the prepared pan, spreading evenly.
3. Bake about 25 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean and edges start to pull away from sides of pan.
4. Place pan on a wire rack. Brush top of hot brownies with bourbon. (I did not brush the top with bourbon). Cool in pan on rack.
5. Spread brownies with bourbon Frosting. Cut into bars. Top each with some of the melted chocolate and, if desired, a pecan half.

"I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray".

p/s : I am having problems with wordpress blogs for the past two weeks. I am unable to open the link to the posts using wordpress. I apologize if you have not received any comments from me. This has never happen before, and I am wondering why. Whatever the issues are at wordpress, I hope they will resolve the problems soon. Do any of you have the same problems?

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