Grand Marnier Brownies w/ Vanilla-Orange ButterCream!

Hope you all are doing well! In attempts to move out our final pieces from our childhood homes, up to our new apartment, my boyfriend found a bottle of Grand Marnier. Now, let me tell you, he and I both HATE the idea of taking a shot of straight Grand Marnier. However, I KNEW I could get some good use out of it in baking!

It's crazy how once you put Grand Marnier into a recipe, it makes it this gourmet, luxurious, "tastes-like-it-took-HOURS-to-make" dessert! 

For these little brownie bites, I used my Norpro Mini Cheesecake Pan. It was the perfect size for the brownies because they are quite rich! I topped my brownies with a Vanilla-Orange ButterCream, but they are equally as good without it.

So go get some liquor and BAKE!!

GRAND MARNIER BROWNIES w/ Vanilla-Orange ButterCream

INGREDIENTS

• 4 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 4 tablespoons brandy-based orange liqueur (such as Grand Marnier®)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8 inch square baking pan.
2. Over low heat, melt chocolate and butter in a medium saucepan. Stir until smooth. Remove from heat and cool slightly.
3. In a large bowl, beat sugars and eggs until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes with electric mixer). Add melted chocolate, 3 tablespoons of the Grand Marnier, vanilla and the orange peel, mixing until well blended. Mix in the flour, salt and chocolate chips (on low speed if using an electric mixer).
4. Pour batter into prepared pan. Smooth the top. Bake for 30-35 until sides look done and top feels firm. Inserting a toothpick 2 inches from center should come out clean; however, center will jiggle and look undercooked.
5. Remove from oven and brush top with the remaining 1 tablespoon Grand Marnier. Cover pan with foil or plastic and cool completely. Cut into 2 inch squares. Store covered at room temperature or they may be frozen. Defrost covered at room temperature.

Vanilla-Orange ButterCream

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup of salted butter

3 cups of powdered sugar

1 Tablespoon whipping cream (or half & half)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tsp. Grand Marnier

1 tsp. finely grated orange peel

DIRECTIONS:

1. Beat the butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
2. Mix all remaining ingredients together until smooth and without lumps. Add more whipping cream to make the buttercream extra creamy!