Not-So-Vegan Guinness Brownies (and Quick Fix: Sub Southern Tier Choklat Stout for the Guinness)

Hello everyone. Happy St. Patrick's Day! I hope all of you are getting your fair shares of Irish fun today. For me, St. Patty's Day isn't just about all of the festive stuff going on. It also gives me the opportunity to sit down and think about something that has always been important to me, my roots.

I come from a long line of strong, hard-working, and amazing people. You know that stereotypical "Irish Catholic" family? The ones that have 11 kids, are always in each others' business, and love to make snarky comments about one another? Yeah...I come from one of those, and it's perfect in every way.

I've been fortunate enough to have all four of my grandparents with me my entire  life, and they have taught me the values of love and hard work. They have always been there for me and are the best people I know. So, even though I have roots in other parts of the world, I always use St. Patrick's Day to take a moment to thank my parents and grandparents  (and great/ great-great grandparents) for everything that they've done so that I could have the opportunities that I have today.

So...these brownies are an ode to all of my ancestors, who have instilled in me the values of love, family, cooking, and curiosity. For that, I am forever grateful. ❤

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup white sugar

2/3 cup brown sugar

2/3 cup Guinness (sub Southern Tier Choklat Stout for vegans)

3/4 cup vegetable or canola oil (+ a little more for greasing)

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tbsp. ground flax + 3 tbsp. water

1 tbsp. vegan buttery spread

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

2 baker's chocolate squares

1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Makes about 16 brownies.

Total Cook Time: 35 minutes.

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, add the flour, white sugar. brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Sift together.

3. Next, add the vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and Guinness. Stir together for a few seconds. Mix together the 2 tbsp. ground flax with the 3 tbsp of water, and pour it into the bowl. Add the butterry spread, and stir until well-combined. Do not over stir.

4. The mixture should be very thick. Line a 13 x 9 inch baking pan with  parchment paper or aluminum foil. Grease with about a teaspoon of vegetable oil.

5. Pour the brownie batter into the pan and spread it out evenly. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

6. A few minutes before the brownies are done, melt the baker's chocolate in a saucepan. Once the brownies have cooled for a few minutes, add the melted chocolate and nuts to the top of the brownies.

NOTE***: I guess Guinness isn't vegan, but you can substitute Southern Tier Choklat Stout for the Guinness, it's vegan friendly, chocolatey, and super delicious. It's also preapproved by me. :)

St. Patrick's Day Recipe: Vegan Colcannon Pizza with Bacon-Flavored Onions

In coming up with a good St. Patrick's Day recipe, I decided to go with some of the ingredients that I already had. This is a relatively simple recipe. I come mainly from Irish and Eastern European descent, so anything starchy with cabbage is comforting and delicious in my book. Not to mention the fact that the ingredients are inexpensive and easy to find.

I've already put up my recipe for Smashed Redskin Potato Pizza, but if you're looking for an Irish twist, go with this colcannon pizza. Serve with green beer or Guinness, and you're stomach will be nice and full to get you through St. Patrick's Day.

These "bacon-flavored" onions also turned out to be delicious. They have a bacon flavor, but I made them very quickly, so I wasn't aiming for perfection. Maybe next time. For whatever reason, I skimped on the onions when I made this, but don't worry, I added more in the recipe. Feel free to use less if you're not a big onion fan.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups white potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch pieces

2 1/2 cups cabbage, shredded

1 cup red onion, sliced

1/3 cup plain unsweetened almond milk

3 cloves garlic, cut in half

1/3 cup + 1 tbsp. vegan buttery spread

1/4 cup water

1 tbsp. + 1 tsp. olive oil

1 tsp. liquid smoke

1/2 tsp. salt (or more to taste)

A few dashes of paprika

Dash of cayenne

Dash of garlic powder

1 can pizza dough

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to the temperature directed by your pizza dough instructions. In a large saucepan, bring the potatoes, garlic cloves, and salted  water to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-high and cook for about 7 minutes. Stir in cabbage, and continue cooking for another 5 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.

2. While the potatoes are cooking, precook the pizza dough for about  2/3 of the cooking time directed by your pizza dough package.

3. Also while the potatoes are cooking, in a small skillet, combine the onion, a dash of salt, a dash of cayenne, dash of paprika, and garlic powder. Turn the heat to medium-high, stir, and add the liquid smoke and 1/4 cup of water. Continue cooking for another 7 minutes, until the water and liquid smoke have reduced and formed a sauce.

4. Once the potatoes are ready, strain the potato/cabbage mixture, and return to pot. Stir in the almond milk, buttery spread, salt, and paprika. Mash with a potato masher.

5. When the pizza dough is ready, take it out of the oven, and brush it with olive oil. Spoon the potato mixture over the pizza dough and  spread it out evenly. Top it with the onions.

6. Bake the pizza in the oven for another 5 to 7 minutes. Once you take it out of the oven, top it with the remaining tablespoon of buttery spread. Let cool and serve.