Recipe: Best Whisky Brownies

It only takes a small oven to produce a half-baked idea. – Brandy Brandon

Chewy and moist. The whisky doesn't add so much flavour as it does "depth."

We all have them – "sweets" cravings that strike around 8pm after the fullness of dinner has settled down a bit. But what do you do about it?

If you live in the city or town, it's as easy as stepping out the door and walking to the store – or taking a short drive. If you live in the country you probably have to make your own fun.

Actually, I take some of the first statement above back. It should be as simple as walking out your front door and going to the store. That's not always the case.

Whisky. A person could use one of these after a Tuesday
trip to our local grocery... Photo: RodBegbie, Flickr ccl

I’ve taken to making my own evening snacks as of late. The reason for this is three-fold.

First, it’s cheaper to make my own baked goods at home, and secondly they're better for me – even if they're brownies. At least they don’t have any preservatives or "artificial this" or "stabilizer that" often contained in factory-baked goods.

The third (more to the point) reason for making my own treats comes back to about it not always being simple to go to the store. 

I only live about one block from the nearest grocery store. My craving was on a Tuesday night, and Tuesday is no-tax day for university students. The line-ups at the checkouts are frightening. A simple trip 20 minute trip to the grocery can take over 3/4 of an hour.

From start to out-of-the-oven this brownie recipe only takes 1/2 hour.

It’s actually faster to make brownies at home than go buy them on a Tuesday. And they taste better. What do you think of that?

So why settle for those store-bought fluffy things when you can make your own chewy delights, complete with hints of whisky and of cardamom spice? Especially when at the store a tray will cost you upwards of $5. The ingredients for homemade are probably less than $1.

Kind of a no-brainer, right?

I have a 375ml bottle of whisky kicking around so it's finding its way into all kinds of things lately. You can substitute your favourite liqueur if you wish, with equally good results.

Try orange liqueur, coffee liqueur, amaretto, etc. You can also play with the spice: cloves, cinnamon, mace or even cayenne...

How to tell when brownies are "done." They start to pull
away from the edge of the pan. When I took them out of
the oven it was half this much, but quickly contracted
on the counter.

Whisky Cardamom Brownies

Prep: 5 minutes  |  Bake: 20-25 minutes | Makes 16

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 tbsp whisky

1/2 tsp extract of cardamom

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup flour

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x9 oven-proof dish.

Whisk the vegetable oil and both sugars in a mixing bowl until blended. Then beat in the eggs, whisky, cinnamon and cardamom extract.

Add the cocoa powder and baking powder and mix well. Then add the salt and flour. Beat until all incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the  brownies have started to slightly pull away from the edges of the pan.

Let cool for 5 minutes before cutting into squares.

Grab a glass of milk and enjoy!

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