Brownies with.. wait, what???

So, there are a few types of barrels and smoke I like.  Wood barrels tend to produce something else I'm fond of.  I'm trying a new recipe for the guys coming down this weekend.  After a hard day of training at the range, it's time to sit down to a nice meal and then a nice dessert of...  Whiskey Brownies?  Heck, yes.  Let's hope it's as awesome as the concept.

Edit:  Success!  The recipe calls for 1/2 cup of whiskey.  it seemed like a lot, but with a relatively good quality liquor it really complements the chocolate well.

Recipe:

Brownies

3/4 Cup Flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup shortening
2 tbs water
2 eggs
1 (6 oz) package semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup whiskey
1/2 cup nuts (optional)

Chocolate topping:

1/2 cup heavy cream
1 package (6oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Pre-heat the oven to 350F and grease a 9 x 9 inch pan.  I used an 8 x 8 and it worked great.  Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside.  In a saucepan combine sugar, shortening and water.  Cook on low heat until boiling gently.  Stir in chocolate chips and vanilla.  Here, the recipe calls for beating in the eggs one at a time.  That makes me nervous.  I always recommend tempering eggs before adding them to something hot, otherwise you get scrambled egg bits.  So, add some of the hot mixture to a slightly beaten egg while whisking and add that back to the pan.  Repeat for the other egg.  Add flour mixture and stir well.  At this time  you can add the nuts if you choose to do so and stir.

Pour mixture into pan and bake for 30 minutes.

After brownies have cooled, sprinkle the whiskey on top and let it soak in.  If you aren't serving them right away, I recommend to wait on this step (and the topping) until about an hour or two before serving).

To make the topping, heat the cream in the microwave for 45 seconds.  Pour hot cream on top of chocolate chips and stir.  If the chocolate does not melt, put mixture into microwave for 10 seconds at a time until smooth and spread on top of brownies.  Allow to cool for soft topping or put in refrigerator if you prefer the topping to be more firm.

http://www.drinkoftheweek.com/blog/whiskey-brownies/