Bourbon Brownies with Sea Salt

I let September completely fly by with not even a hint of a post. I could blame travel (an extended weekend in New York) or work (but it’s the same old there), but really, I’ve just been tired, and I haven’t had the energy to write anything, really.

So here I am, writing about something I made way back in May of 2013, which means I’m basically two and a half years behind. Maybe I should just give up at some point, and fast forward to the present, but there was so much baking in the past two and a half years! Though I would be hard-pressed to actually remember most of the details.

Way back when I made this recipe, I think I was in the mood for something with bourbon, so I found a recipe for bourbon brownies topped with sea salt. And, as has been the trend lately, I don’t have the energy to actually write a story about this, so here’s just the recipe (which I got here) and some pictures.

Bourbon Brownies with Sea Salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 ounces dark chocolate (60-70% cacao), coarsely chopped
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 tablespoons bourbon (I used Maker’s Mark)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4-1/2 teaspoon sea salt, for topping

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Line an 8×8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, and grease the foil.
3. Melt the butter and dark chocolate together, either in the microwave or in a double boiler. Let the mixture cool slightly and pour into a mixing bowl.
4. Add sugar and cocoa powder to the butter and chocolate mixture, and whisk to combine.
5. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time.
6. Add the salt, bourbon, and vanilla extract, and stir to combine.
7. Add the flour and stir until just combined.
8. Pour the batter into the foil-lined pan.
9. Sprinkle the sea salt on top of the batter.
10. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center only has a few moist crumbs.
11. Let the brownies cool in the pan.
12. Lift the foil out of the pan and slice.

The batter, with the rich dark chocolate and bourbon.

In the foil-lined pan, with some sea salt sprinkled on top.

After 30 minutes in the oven, it’s done. The top cracked a bit.

I cut it into 16 squares.

The brownies were nice and moist. The bourbon flavor is noticeable, and the sea salt helps bring out that bourbon flavor.