Peanut Butter Whiskey Brownies

I am doing a dessert pairing with my local liquor and wine store this weekend, and one week out from St. Patty's day, obviously they are doing a whiskey tasting. I should also say that we went back into office this week, and my boss gave us all tiny bottles of Screwball Whiskey, so those two things have led to the creation of peanut butter whiskey brownies. The whiskey is obviously optional, but why would you want it to be? 

This recipe makes an 8x8 pan of brownies (12 chunky pieces). 

I used my regular brownie recipe and just added on/tweaked a bit:

For the Batter:

1 stick unsalted butter

8 oz chocolate chips (you're really going to use the whole 12 oz bag, but 2/3 of it for now)

1/2 c brown sugar

1/2 c granulated sugar

3 eggs

1/2 c flour

1/4 c cocoa powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 oz peanut butter whiskey (you'll use a whole shot total or a travel size bottle)

4 oz chocolate chips for mixins (see, I told you)

For the Peanut Butter Swirl

1/3 c peanut butter (I used creamy, but I can't imagine chunky would be bad)

1 tbsp powdered sugar

1/2 oz peanut butter whiskey

1 1/2 tbsp heavy cream *to thin out- you may need a little more or less

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Prepare pan with some non-stick spray and parchment paper.

2. Combine peanut butter swirl mixture into a small bowl and set aside. 

3. Put 8 oz chocolate chips and butter in a heat-safe bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals until chocolate and butter are just melted. Don't over-heat. If there's still a few lumps, just stir, and the residual heat will melt everything. 

4. Add sugars to the melted chocolate mixture and combine. This will help cool the chocolate off a little before you add the eggs.

5. Add eggs one at a time and mix well before adding the next. Add 1 oz whiskey.

6. Add flour, cocoa powder, and salt to the bowl and mix well to combine. Don't worry about over-mixing here. 

7. Add in the remaining chocolate chips and pour batter into pan.

8. Put dollops of the PB mixture onto the brownies or put in a piping bag and draw lines onto the batter; swirl with a butter knife (this is what I did).

9. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out kind of clean. This is such a personal preference. I err on the side of less done, but you know what you like. 

10. Allow to cool before removing from the pan and slicing.