Guinness Brownies with Irish Cream Frosting

Robust Guinness beer gives these Guinness brownies a rich, complex flavor that pairs wonderfully with the dark chocolate and a creamy Irish cream frosting.

We’re certainly getting some kind of luck of the Irish in the brownie department today! Consider your dessert game for St. Patrick’s Day officially sorted.

Sorted in the direction of Guinness and Irish cream, no less because us non green-beer lovers need some way to celebrate too! You’ll never need to twist my arm to make some kind of brownie indulgence.

And an indulgence these certainly are but WELL worth it! Yes, we have a fudgy brownie layer hiding underneath all that Irish cream frosting + sprinkles and it’s to die for.

These Brownies Feature…

• A moist and fudgy texture
• Subtle dark Guinness flavor that compliments the rich chocolate
• Rich and creamy Irish cream buttercream frosting

Making the Brownies

(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)

Ingredients You Will Need

• Guinness beer
• Unsalted butter
• Granulated sugar
• Brown sugar
• Instant espresso powder
• Eggs
• Vanilla extract
• All-purpose flour
• Unsweetened cocoa powder
• Kosher salt
• Powdered sugar
• Irish cream liqueur

Choosing Your Beer

I prefer to use Guinness extra-stout beer for these brownies for the most robust flavor. You can also use another dark stout beer brand if that’s all you have on hand.

Tips for Perfect Brownies

1. Reduce Guinness beer on stovetop – this concentrates the beer which makes for a richer flavor in the brownies.
2. Whisk sugars well into melted butter – mixing the sugars and butter for about 60 seconds will incorporate air into the mixture which helps give these brownies an incredible texture.
3. Measure flour correctly – I use the spoon-and-level technique for measuring flour as this will prevent over-measuring your flour. Use a spoon to scoop flour into the measuring cup, then level with the back of a knife.
4. Gently fold batter – overmixing will lead to dry and tough brownies so use a gentle hand when folding batter.
5. Don’t overbake brownies – bake brownies until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs sticking to it.
6. Cool brownies before frosting – allow the brownies to cool completely before frosting so the frosting doesn’t melt off.

Recipe Variations

Try these ideas for a different twist on these brownies.

• Make them more chocolatey – fold 1/2 cup semisweet or dark chocolate chips into the brownie batter.
• Add nuts – fold 1/2 cup toasted chopped pecans or walnuts into the brownie batter.
• Use another frosting – try a cream cheese frosting, chocolate frosting, or peanut butter frosting.

Storing Brownies

These brownies may be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 4 days.

Brownies may also be frozen up to 2 months. To freeze brownies, allow to cool completely and do not top with frosting. Thaw brownies at room temperature and top with frosting before serving.

These brownies really are the perfect option if you’re looking to kick up your dessert game for St. Patrick’s Day this year! No one will be able to resist how fudgy and deeply chocolate-heavy they are and all that glorious creamy Irish cream frosting mounded on top.

Extra-lucky 4 leaf clover sprinkles on mine, please.

Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram with #wholeandheavenlyoven.

Try these other brownie favorites next!

• Fudgy Zucchini Brownies
• Espresso Brownies
• Almond Flour Brownies