We Should Be Folding Laundry

habanero raspberry guinness brownies

When I was sixteen, I worked at a drug store.

Without fail, our busiest day of the year was always Valentine’s Day.

There would be an almost constant line of angry toe-tappers checking their watches and sighing in my face from the time we opened until closing.

Good times.

I remember ringing up one customer after another and wondering why they all waited until the last minute to do their Valentine’s shopping.

I just can’t live like that. I’ve never been a procrastinator when it comes to the holidays.

However, I know that most of you out there are procrastinators when it comes to Valentine’s Day.

I know this because I’ve seen you scowling at me while you waited in line for me to ring up your heart-shaped box of Russell Stover chocolates that you thought you’d just swing in and pick up on your way home from work.

Don’t be that person this Valentine’s Day.

Stay in your sweats, avoid the long lines and make your sweetie these brownies instead!

These brownies require a few more steps than regular brownies but that’s because these aren’t regular brownies. And really, none of the extra steps are hard and the final product is totally worth it.

I have a feeling that you may have some concerns over the habanero part of this situation.

Yes, on it’s own a habanero pepper is crazy hot. But once the seeds are removed and the pepper has simmered in liquid for a bit, the heat mellows out significantly.

And if you don’t want to make your own raspberry filling, just use store-bought raspberry jam. No one will know. Just warm it a little so you can mix it throughout the brownie batter.

habanero raspberry guinness brownies

I went a little nuts with the raspberry filling. Don’t be like me.

Happy Valentine’s Day! ♥

Spicy Raspberry Guinness Brownies

Servings: 8
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habanero raspberry guinness brownies

Ingredients:

For the brownies:

1/2 cup Guinness
12 oz. semi sweet chocolate chips
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup AP flour
1 1/4 tsp sea salt
1 habanero pepper

For the raspberry filling:

12 oz bag frozen raspberries thawed
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° and spray a 9 x 9 inch pan with non-stick spray or line it with foil and spray the foil with non-stick spray. For thinner brownies use a 7 x 11 inch pan.

Slice habanero in half and remove seeds.

Add Guinness to a small sauce pan, drop in both habanero halves and boil gently until liquid is reduced to 1/4 cup. Set aside to cool.

Remove the habanero pepper from the liquid and dice it up.

In another small sauce pan set over medium heat, add thawed raspberries along with any liquid from the bag, the sugar, and the diced habanero. Mix cornstarch with 1 tbsp of COLD water. When raspberry mixture comes to a boil, whisk in the cornstarch/water mixture. Stir to combine and turn off the heat. Set aside to cool and thicken.

If you don’t want raspberry seeds or diced habanero in your brownies, press the mixture through a fine strainer. My husband was fine with the seeds and peppers so I skipped this step.

Add chocolate chips and butter to microwave safe dish and microwave for 20 seconds. Stir. Keep repeating this process until the chocolate has completely melted. It should take about 60 seconds total. Set aside for a couple of minutes to cool.

Whisk sugar, eggs, and vanilla together in a large bowl. Slowly pour in the cooled chocolate mixture and Guinness. Whisk to combine.

Fold in flour and salt. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Drizzle 4-5 lines of the raspberry filling over the top of the batter and use a knife or toothpick to swirl the filling throughout the batter.

You should have quite a bit of raspberry filling leftover so store it in an airtight container in your refrigerator and pour it over vanilla ice cream or mix it into your cocktails.

Bake the brownies for about 40-45 minutes or until set. These brownies will be very moist.

Allow the brownies to cool completely before you try to slice them.