Irish cream brownies will make coffee lovers happy
Irish cream brownies are ultra chocolatey fudgy soft brownies flavored with whiskey and topped with a coffee Irish cream buttercream frosting. If you love coffee, these brownies are calling your name.
The brownies themselves are a one-bowl recipe, making these a quick and easy recipe to make last-minute when you’ve got chocolate on the brain!
| Active time | Total time | Yield | Difficulty |
| 15 min | about 1 hr | 16 small brownies | Easy |
Irish cream is one of my favorite flavors to add to chocolate as both Irish cream and chocolate go so well together with coffee. These bake up into rich dark chocolate brownies that are perfect for St. Patrick’s Day.
Why you’ll love these Irish Cream Brownies
- Coffee + chocolate: Irish cream boosts the coffee in the frosting and the flavor of the chocolate.
- Easy: The brownie batter can be made entirely in the pan you melt the butter in. One-bowl brownies are the only way to go!
- Layers of chocolate and texture: With melted chocolate, cocoa, and chunks of chocolate on top of the frosting, you’ll get multiple layers of decadent chocolate flavor and texture. Plus the fudgy base with the rich Irish cream coffee buttercream is a delicious contrast.
- Grownup brownies worth sharing: This is the kind of easy dessert you make when you’re having dinner or a casual Sunday lunch with when you have time to sit around talking around coffee. The slightly boozy frosting makes for St. Paddy’s Day treats for adults that make you linger around the table.
Ingredients for Irish Cream Brownies
Irish cream brownie batter
- Butter
- Dark chocolate bar, chopped into chunks: you can also use chocolate chips
- Light brown sugar
- Powdered sugar
- Eggs
- Whiskey (for extra Irish flavor) or Irish cream (for bigger Irish cream flavor)
- Flour
- Dutch-process cocoa
- Baking powder
- Salt
Irish cream buttercream
- Butter
- Powdered sugar
- Instant espresso powder
- Irish cream: you can substitute vanilla (see note below)
- Green sprinkles (optional)
Equipment needed
Yes. Since the Irish cream contains alcohol in the frosting, you may want to put the Irish cream in only the brownies. Each brownie contains only 3/4 of one half teaspoon of the liqueur, which is 17% alcohol/volume. While this is roughly equivalent to a smaller amount of vanilla extract made in 40% vodka, everyone must make their own choices about alcohol in their bakes.
I’ve only ever used original Bailey’s, so I don’t know what other choices there are where Irish cream liqueur is concerned. The nice thing about Bailey’s is that you can buy a tiny bottle of it for a recipe like this and not have to worry about having tons leftover if you, like me do not drink.
Step by step process for making one bowl brownies with Irish cream
- Make the batter: Melt the butter with the sugars, salt, and baking powder, stirring to dissolve the sugar into the batter. Whisk in half of the chopped chocolate and the whiskey (or Irish cream), stirring until the chocolate melts. Add in the eggs and and whisk well until the eggs are incorporated well into the batter. Add in the flour, stirring just until the flour just disappears.
- Bake the brownies: Scrape the batter into an 8×8 pan lined with parchment . Bake for 18-20 minutes until until the center no longer jiggles and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Set aside the brownies to cool for 30 minutes. If you want to speed up this process, set the brownies in the freezer.
- Make the frosting: Beat the butter, powdered sugar, and espresso into a paste. You can do this with either a hand mixer or a stand mixer. Pour in the Irish cream and beat until the frosting is smooth and fluffy.
- Decorate: Spread the frosting in a layer on the top of the cooled brownies. Sprinkle over the rest of the chocolate and some green sprinkles if you’d like.
- Chill: Chill the brownies in the fridge before cutting. The butter needs to firm up before you can get clean cuts. Once the frosting is firm to the touch, cut the brownies into 16 pieces.
Storing the brownies
Store these brownies in a closed container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can freeze unfrosted brownies wrapped well in plastic and then sealed in a plastic bag for up to 3 months. Defrost the brownies on the counter for a couple hours before frosting.
More rich chocolate desserts and Bailey’s Desserts perfect for brunch
- Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes: Rich stout beer pumps up the chocolate flavor on these Irish cream whipped cream cupcakes.
- Black bean brownies: Date-sweetened, impossibly rich brownies with no added sugar, dairy free and gluten free without sacrificing flavor. My kids will tell you these are easily in the top 10 of their favorite things I make.
- Easter Brownies: Uses the same brownie base as this recipe, just with more Easter flair. These are super cute for kids’ Easter parties.
- Chocolate Raspberry Tarts: Simple puff pastry shells loaded up with luscious chocolate pastry cream and raspberries. They look all fancy pants but they’re absurdly easy to make.
Irish cream brownies
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 16 small brownies 1x
Description
One-bowl brownies with a layer of slightly boozy Irish cream coffee buttercream and studded with chunks of chocolate for St. Patrick’s brownies for grownups. Serve these with strong coffee around a table with good friends.
Ingredients
Cooking spray, for the pan
Irish Cream Brownies Batter
- 1 stick butter (113 g)
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar (70 g)
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar (40 g)
- 3 and 1/2 Tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa, such as Droste or Hershey’s Special Dark (18 g)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 oz. chocolate bar, cut into chunks (or 2/3 cup of chocolate chips)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 Tablespoon whiskey or Irish cream liqueur or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (98 g)
Irish Cream Buttercream
- 1 cup powdered sugar (120 g)
- 4 Tablespoons butter, at room temperature (57 g)
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
- 2 Tablespoons Irish cream liqueur (or 1 Tablespoon of liqueur + 1 Tablespoon of milk for less boozy flavor)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C). Spritz an 8×8 baking pan with cooking spray, and then line the bottom of the pan with two pieces of parchment that extend up the sides of the pan.
Make the batter
- Melt the butter with the sugars, salt, and baking powder, stirring to dissolve the sugar into the batter.
- Whisk in half of the chopped chocolate and the whiskey (or Irish cream), stirring until the chocolate melts.
- Add in the eggs and then whisk well until the eggs are incorporated well into the batter.
- Add in the flour, stirring just until the flour just disappears.
Bake the brownies
- Scrape the batter into the pan.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes until until the center no longer jiggles and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Set aside the brownies to cool for 30 minutes. If you want to speed up this process, set the brownies in the freezer.
Make the frosting
- Beat the butter, powdered sugar, and espresso into a paste. You can do this with either a hand mixer or a stand mixer. Pour in the Irish cream and beat until the frosting is smooth and fluffy.
- Spread the frosting in a layer on the top of the cooled brownies. Sprinkle over the rest of the chocolate and some green sprinkles if you’d like.
Chill the brownies
- Chill the brownies in the fridge before cutting. The butter needs to firm up before you can get clean cuts. Once the frosting is firm to the touch, cut the brownies into 16 pieces.
- You can serve the brownies either chilled or at room temperature once you’ve cut them. Store them in the fridge in a covered container for up to 5 days. Once the buttercream is chilled, you can stack the brownies.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- + 30 minutes to chill the brownies:
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Bar cookies
- Method: Baking, Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
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