Champagne Brownies

Most people will be celebrating this evening with a bottle of bubbly.
But I thought I'd take that one step further- how about celebrating with a pan full of Champagne Brownies?
You read that correctly- brownies made with champagne! When I first came across this recipe I couldn't wait to combine two of my favorite foods (champagne and chocolate)... and the outcome was pretty tasty! I started with the following ingredients:
First, I melted the butter and chocolate in a pan on the stove...
You're probably wondering why I chose to use my french oven just to melt the chocolate and butter. Well, this batter is all made in a single pot on the stove... isn't that cool?
But back to the brownies! While things were melting on the stove, I turned my attention to the rest of the ingredients like salt...
Sugar...
Powdered sugar...
And flour.
And then I got to pop the bubbly- the best part of my afternoon!
After pouring out a cup, I added a bit of vanilla and set to work combining the batter!
I added the sugar to the melted chocolate and butter...
Once it was combined, I added the eggs (one at a time).
After the eggs came the flour...
And finally the champagne/vanilla.
After a good stir, I poured the batter into a greased 9x13 pan and placed it into a pre-heated oven.
After about 45 minutes I pulled this yummy smelling pan from the oven.
I was so excited to try these new brownies that I sliced a bar and dove right in- talk about rich! (Sorry about the look of the brownie- I didn't wait until the pan had cooled and I totally mangled the piece as I attempted to extract it from the pan!) If you'd like to try these someday, here's the recipe:
Champagne Brownies

Ingredients:
1 pound Unsweetened Chocolate
12 Tablespoons Butter
½ teaspoon Salt
2 cups Sugar
½ cup Powdered Sugar
½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
4 Eggs
¾ cups Flour
1 cup Champagne

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325. In a large pot on low heat, melt together the chocolate and butter. Remove from heat. Add the salt, sugars and vanilla. Stir together to combine. Stir in 1 egg at a time until just combined. Add the flour, stirring until just combined. Add the champagne and stir until incorporated. Transfer to a greased 9 x 13 baking pan. Bake about 40-45 minutes, cool before serving.

What better way to toast the New Year than with a glass of bubbly and a plate of chocolate deliciousness?!
Thank you for stopping by! I hope you have a wonderful New Year's Eve and a very happy and healthy 2011!