Baking with Alcohol: Cooking with Guinness and Jameson

This St. Patrick’s Day, don’t just celebrate with traditional Irish food – try something nontraditional by preparing a dessert with Irish alcohol.  Guinness and Jameson are the two most popular Irish drinks to cook and bake with, and can be added to many desserts.  Since it has chocolaty notes, Guinness pairs especially well with all sorts of chocolate desserts, including brownies, cookies, and cake.  Here are some recipes for the over-21 crowd to appease any sweet tooth:

Fudgy Guinness Brownies
Decadent fudge is what comes to mind when you bite into these melt-in-your-mouth soft brownies.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup stout
• 12 oz bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1 1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper.
2. In a small saucepan, boil the stout until it has reduced to about 1/3 cup (about 12 minutes). Let it cool.
3. In a medium heat-proof bowl, mix together chocolate and butter and set over a saucepan of simmering water, or use a double boiler.  Keep stirring until the mixture has melted thoroughly.
4. Whisk together eggs, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl.
5. Slowly whisk in the chocolate mixture, then add the stout from the pan. 
6. Fold in flour and salt, then pour mixture into the prepared pan.
7. Bake brownies for about 45-60 minutes, or until the surface begins to crack and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
8. Let cool for at least 20 minutes, then lift brownies out using the paper and let them cool completely.
    

Guinness Chocolate Cookies
For the chocolate-lover in your life, try these double chocolate cookies with both milk and dark chocolate.

Ingredients:

• 1 bottle of Guinness
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup cocoa powder, sifted
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1 1/4 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Put Guinness and brown sugar in a saucepan and cook together over medium heat for 15-20 minutes, reducing the mixture to about 1/3 of a cup.  Set aside to cool.
2. In a large bowl, beat butter until soft and creamy.
3. Add sugar and mix thoroughly, then add eggs and vanilla and mix until fully incorporated.
4. Add Guinness mixture, and stir thoroughly.
5. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
6. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and mix until just combined.  Fold in chocolate and let chill for at least 2 hours.
7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Scoop tablespoon-sized cookies onto a sheet, and bake for 9 minutes. 
8. Cool for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
    

Oatmeal Apple Stout Cake with Whiskey Cream
This is a foodie’s take on dessert if you are tired of soda bread, and produces a moist, flavorful loaf.  It tastes great with and without the cream, and can be served with fruit as well.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup oats
• 11/2 cups Guinness or other dark stout beer
• 1½ cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• ¾ cup neutral oil
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ¼-inch pieces
• 1 cup heavy (whipping) cream
• 1-2 tablespoons whiskey
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar, and extra for dusting

Directions:

1. Put oats in a bowl and add the stout, then let sit for 1-2 hours until the oats are completely soaked.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Oil a loaf pan, and put parchment paper on the bottom.
3. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a small bowl.
4. In a medium bowl, beat the oil, sugars, and eggs together until the mix is well-combined and slightly creamy. Stir in the vanilla extract.
5. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients and mix together. Add ½ of the oatmeal-stout mixture and combine. Repeat, ending with the dry ingredients. Fold in the apples.
6. Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
7. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a plate or rack. Dust the loaf with powdered sugar.
8. Make the whiskey cream topping by beating the cream, whiskey, and powdered sugar together until the mix forms a soft peak when you lift up the mixers.
9. Cut the loaf into thick slices, and dust with more powdered sugar and top with the whiskey cream.
    

Irish Whiskey Truffles
Though not baked, this dessert is certainly for those over 21, as it contains quite a bit of whiskey!

Ingredients:

• 8 oz extra bitter chocolate, finely chopped
• 4 oz semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup Jameson whiskey

Directions:

1. In a medium-sized heat-proof bowl, mix extra bitter chocolate with semi-sweet chocolate and set aside.
2. Pour heavy cream into a saucepan and put over medium-high heat until the cream begins to boil, then immediately pour the cream over the chocolate. Let sit for five minutes.
3. Stir chocolate until smooth, then stir in Jameson and keep stirring until well-combined.
4. Refrigerate for about an hour, or until the mixture is firm, but not hard.
5. Take a baking sheet and line it with parchment paper.  Spoon chocolate mixture into balls about 1-inch wide on the paper.
6. Refrigerate again for 15 minutes.
7. Take truffles out of the refrigerator and roll in the cocoa powder, then serve!