Guinness Stout Brownie Pretzel Bars
Getting excited for the Super Bowl this weekend? Me too… and there’s so much to look forward to between the Big Game itself, the (hopefully very funny) commercials, Madonna’s half time show, and of course the yummy FOOD & drinks! And speaking of game-day-appropriate-deliciousness, Esther of Batch from Scratch is here with a festive beer & pretzel inspired brownie recipe, complete with homemade butterscotch ganache. Gotta love combos of salty & sweet!
GUINNESS STOUT BROWNIE PRETZEL BARS
By Esther Kang of Batch from Scratch
FOR THE BROWNIES:
Ingredients:
- 4 oz Bittersweet Chocolate
- 8 oz Butter
- 1 Egg
- 3/4 cup Sugar
- 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
- 1/4 cup Cocoa
- 1 1/4 cup Flour
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 2 tsp Vanilla
- 1 cup Guinness
- 8 oz Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
Instructions:
1. melt 4 oz bittersweet chocolate & butter (in microwave or double boiler)
2. beat egg, sugar and brown sugar for 3 minutes
3. while eggs & sugar are mixing, mix dry ingredients: cocoa, flour, salt
4. add melted chocolate to egg mixture
5. mix in dry ingredients
6. add vanilla and beer until incorporated
7. pour into pan, then sprinkle semi-sweet chocolate on top of the batter
8. bake at 350 for 35 minutes until knife comes out clean
FOR THE BUTTERSCOTCH GANACHE:
Ingredients:
- 3.5 oz Butterscotch
- 2.5 oz White Chocolate Chips
- 1.4 oz Heavy Cream
Instructions:
1. combine butterscotch, white chocolate and heavy cream in a small bowl
2. microwave in 30 second increments, stir until melted and smooth
FOR THE TOPPING:
Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup Crushed Pretzels
- Flakey Sea Salt (maldon salt works well)
Instructions:
1. top baked stout brownies with ganache
2. refrigerate until firm, cut and serve
3. top each piece with crushed pretzels and flakey sea salt
*****
ENJOY!
29 Comments
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What an awesome recipe!! I love everything about it for Super Bowl Sunday!
hi… so what is the measurement of beer…one “bottle” of guiness, my store only had cans of guiness beer…soo???How much beer
Hi Debbie – I actually think she was thinking of the Guinness can, which has about 15 oz :). Thanks for the heads up – I’ll edit the text so there’s no further confusion.
Hi Everyone!! Sorry for the confusion – it is actually 1 cup of Guiness. I have asked Jenn to edit the text above.
I’m probably missing it, but what size pan? 9×13, 8×8, 9×9? I’m *guessing* 9×13, based on the way anything with Guiness in the batter tends to expand.
This recipe looks AMAZING!!! Can’t wait to try it!!!
Good question! I’d guess 9×13 too – but we’re double checking with Esther. I’ll update the post as soon as I get the info :)
Hi! Standard 9×13 pan works well for this recipe – of course if you only have a 8″ or 9″ square pan, you can certainly use that but it will create a thicker brownie. just edit baking time….or reserve some batter and make one or two cupcakes so you can enjoy by yourself!
Two questions…
1. Do you include the condensed milk when microwaving the ganache ingredients?
2. Shouldn’t you top the ganache with the pretzels & salt before you refrigerate?
I like to top mine after I refrigerate and cut the brownies. Depending on your refrigerator, humidity and/or weather, the salt may melt into the ganache and leave odd dark spots. Also, the pretzels looks great when they are pressed into the ganache – however it does take away from the nice crunchiness since the ganache will seep into the pretzels and make them get prematurely stale…
Its up to your discretion, if you are planning to eat them the same day you cover them with ganache – then you can go ahead and top them with pretzels and salt before putting them in the refrigerator.
How many squares does it make ?
15 – 2.75″ x 2.5″ bars, or 20 – 2″ x 2.5″ bars.
Does butterscotch mean butterscotch baking chips?
yes, butterscotch chips – or any other butterscotch you can find. butterscotch bars will work too.
These look so yummy!
I just made these and came across a few questions. When you add the 8oz of semisweet chocolate to the brownie, should it be melted? I used Baker’s Squares, so I melted it. The recipe does not specify. I added the condensed milk after melting the other ingredients. I used the butterscotch chips and it took a bit to melt because of the parafin, but it worked out okay. My ganache looks like a true ganache, not the fluffy topping in the picture. Thin and rich. The fluffy topping really looks like it was mixed with a mixer and maybe powdered sugar. I added the pretzels and salt after putting on the ganache. That was the onlyway I would think that it would stick. I guess we will see tomorrow if it makes the pretzels soggy. I love the idea of these bars, but I do not think this recipe was tested. Hopefully, all of this can be clariffied before too many people attempt the recipe.
Thanks so much for your feedback, Sarah. All has been noted and we did actually just clarify a few things in the recipe above – including removing the condensed milk in the ganache altogether – looks like that ingredient snuck in there accidentally. I sincerely apologize that these edits were made after you already attempted the recipe – and I’m really hoping they still turn out okay for you!
Looks super yummy! I am making them tomorrow for my super bowl party!
I have the same question as Vicky. What we do with condensed milk for the ganache? Into the microwave with everything else? Thanks!
Hi Nicole –
Go ahead and leave the condensed milk out altogether – looks like that ingredient snuck in there accidentally – sorry about that! Good luck with your party! I’m going to make these tonight too. :)
When adding the semisweet chocolate, should it be melted im assuming?!
There are 12 oz of chocolate chip in this recipe, 4 oz to be melted with the butter, and 8 to be topped on top of the mixed batter.
Unfortunately, I tried this too before it was clarified. The sweetened consdensed milk made them soggy and very difficult to cut. They are like mush. They taste great, but not very good to take to a Superbowl party since they can’t really be cut into squares. Very expensive to make as well. Probably about $15 worth of ingredients.
You might want to change “butterscotch” to “butterscotch chips” in the recipe – I assumed that you meant butterscotch liqueur (especially since you mentioned chips for the white chocolate) and ended up halfway through the recipe without the necessary ingredients and unable to continue. Looking forward to trying it again, though!
Hi! Sorry for the confusion. The brownies taste great, even without the ganache…I hope you are able to give it another try!
how can i get this recipy to save ,can you send me the recip guinnes bownes
I was really looking forward to making this for a housewarming party of a beer enthusiast. Unfortunately, it did not come out as expected. I almost posted pictures on pintrestfail.com because I was so disappointed. I followed the recipe exactly. Even read the comments prior to making them so I was sure I was doing it correctly. The brownies themselves turned out okay taste-wise but they were extremely crumbly and messy. The ganache, however, was awful. It was difficult to cut through so the brownies fell apart as I was trying to cut them. The ganache also cracked and broke when I tried to put the pretzels on top. I don’t think I would make this recipe again and if I did I would put a different type of frosting on the top. It’s such a cool idea, but kind of a disappointment.
Do I let the brownies cool before topping with the ganache?
Came out a bit crumbly. Not fudgey like my favorite brownie texture. Good flavor. The topping is thin, not like the picture.
I agree with much of what Nichole said. My brownies were also a bit crumbly and messy, and I was unable to press the pretzels into the “ganache,” rather they just sat on top and slid off when picked up. The layer of ganache ended up being very thin, and looked nothing like the picture posted–not in color, texture, thickness, anything. The picture posted with this recipe appears to feature an icing, rather than the melted butterscotch/white chocolate mixture featured in this recipe. I did like the flavors together, and the brownies seemed to be a bit better the next day, however, I ultimately thought this recipe was disappointing and misleading. Also, as a few others have noted, there were a lot of omissions and confusion related to the recipe itself…frustrating when you’re making something for the first time.
do these work?