January is kind of a hot mess for me, when pretty much every male I know on the planet is born. My Dad, my brother, my husband, my son. All born in January. It's like tumbling out of Christmas and falling straight into birthday mania with no stops in between. And the hard part for me is figuring out what the heck to do for all these manly people. My dainty teacups and pretty cocktails just aren't going to cut it.

That's when I break out the BEER.

My husband loves craft beers, so I thought I'd treat him to a bit of boozy baking. He's not a fan of birthday cake, but he has fond memories of his Mom baking him creme de menthe brownies. And of course beer brownies are a thing, but I wanted to take a step in a different direction. Bring on the stout.

These fudgy treats contain Season Pass, a vanilla Infused stout from Uinta brewery, a local brewery known for their craft beers. Did you know Salt Lake City has more breweries and tattoo parlors per square inch than any other city in America? Yep. Hipster central.

The batter mixes up thick and fudgy, but we're not done yet. Because these are double chocolate brownies. And if you're worried about so much chocolate being overwhelming, rest assured that the stout gives these plenty of height, making them airy and surprisingly light.

Over the river and into the oven these go. And yes. That's a sprinkle of sea salt you see glimmering on the top. I also added a bit more when they emerged from baking to ensure we'd balanced the chocolate and sweetness with plenty of salt. That's how I like my brownies. Sassy.

Come get 'em while they're hot, boys. I hope your New Year has been forgiving and you've somehow managed to escape the flu epidemic thus far. (Fingers crossed) Stick with it, friends. Life does get sweeter and spring will come again. And in the meantime, you can comfort yourself with chocolate. It's a solid approach.

Salted Stout Double Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients:
1 cup unbleached white flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
6 Tablespoons butter, cut into cubes
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup granulated white sugar
1 cup (8 ounces) of stout or porter of your choosing
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with cooking, non-stick spray. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, and 1/2 tsp. salt until evenly combined. Set aside. Melt butter and chocolate in the microwave on 30-second intervals, stirring frequently until melted.

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add melted chocolate mixture, beating until combined. Beat reserved flour mixture into melted chocolate mixture. Whisk in beer by hand.

Pour into prepared baking pan. Drop semisweet chocolate chips evenly on top of batter. Bake 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let brownies cool to room temperature before attempting to cut.