Chambord Brownies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9- x 13-inch pan and set aside.

Layer one:

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 eggs, beaten
1 (16-ounce) can chocolate syrup or 1 1/2 cups
1 cup flour

Cream butter and sugar until light. Add salt, eggs and chocolate syrup. Blend together well. Add flour and mix just until incorporated into the chocolate mixture. pour into greased 9″ x 13″ pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Allow to cool in pan.

Layer two:

2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 tablespoons Chambord liqueur (product of France)
Dash of red food coloring

Beat ingredients together with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy.  Spread over cooled brownies.

Layer three:

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter

In a small, heavy saucepan, melt chips and butter. Cool slightly.  Spoon over Chambord topping and spread evenly to cover.

When chocolate topping is firm, cut brownies into 1″ squares.

Tips from the cook

I put the chocolate-topped brownies in the refrigerator just until the chocolate was firm. After that, I stored the brownies tightly covered at room temperature.

I have a habit of lining the brownie-baking pan with foil, allowing the edges to come up over the sides of the pan. I butter the foil before pouring in the batter. This way, I can easily lift the cooled and frosted brownies from the pan before cutting. Producing pretty squares of dessert is so easy using this technique. No funny-looking first serving from the pan.

 

- Recipe courtesy of Sue Doeden's All about Food.