Eat Run Eat: Part 2

Well, I'd intended this post to be a tad bit closer to the last one, but better late than never I guess.

Honestly, as long as it seemingly took my legs to recover from race day, it seems fitting that my recap of the day is stretching on as well. This week I'm back to running, but also still thinking about these fabulous St. Patty's Day themed brownies that I made for our post-run celebration and festivities. 

As I've gushed about in the past, I love, love, LOVE St. Patty's Day as an adult. It's quite possibly the only holiday that has gotten better with age and I look great in green. The latter statement isn't really saying much as I look great in most colors (sorry, but I speak the truth), but as so many of my childhood joys have been taken from me with age, it's nice to have this to hold onto, plus the Irish part of me really just loves a day devoted to drinking. 

In that vein, I often like to take the opportunity to give my baking an extra kick by infusing it with alcohol as well. Years ago, during one of my first St. Patty's Days in DC I first tried my hand at alcohol-infused baking. I was still a novice baker at the time though, so I added Bailey's to boxed brownies. I had evolved into making my own frosting by that point, so that's something, and I infused it with Bailey's as well. I remember being a little...ok EXTREMELY liberal with my measuring of the alcohol additive and the finished product was very strong to say the least. Since I've progressed past boxed brownies, I was super excited to put my new skills to the test with this year's creation. 

About a month ago I found a fabulous brownie recipe. If you've ever tried making brownies from scratch you know it's incredibly hard to get the same gooey consistency that you get with boxed brownie mix. This is a huge issue for me because the fat girl inside of me loves her some half-baked brownies (and brownie batter too for that matter). A little over a year ago I found this recipe that had been my go to when I wanted to woo people with my brownie-making skills...or when I wanted a good brownie. But then about a month ago I found another one that blew my socks off. I tried it out on my coworkers and it was a huge hit with them as well. It's not ready for the big blog reveal yet as I want to tweak it a little first, but for now this recipe isn't too shabby either.

Bailey's Brownies with Bailey's Buttercream

Ingredients

Brownies
Original recipe found here 

• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 3 squares Ghirardelli baking chocolate
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup Bailey’s Irish Cream Liqueur

Buttercream

Original Recipe found here

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 4 Tbsps Bailey's Irish Cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease baking pan (I used an 8x8 pan so they were nice and thick)
2. For brownies, melt butter and baking squares in a microwave safe bowl. This should be done at 30 second intervals (stirring in between) to avoid overcooking the chocolate
3. In the mixing bowl, cream melted butter and chocolate mixture, then add in sugar and vanilla. Beat until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes
4. Add in eggs, beating one at a time, flour, and stir just until combined. Stir in Bailey’s
5. Pour into greased baking dish and bake for 35 minutes f you prefer a gooey center, and 5-10 minutes longer if you want them to be a little more sturdy
6. After or while brownies are cooling (I prefer an overnight cool time), cool butter to room temperature. I never plan enough ahead for this to happen naturally, so I usually stick it in the microwave for 15 seconds
7. Once butter is softened, mix with remaining ingredients until smooth and creamy. Spread lavishly over brownies...and if you're feeling fun, add some festive sprinkles to round things out

 

Happy [slightly belated] St. Patty's Day!