wee bit o' green for luck

After my math skills improved as a child, I realized that the Irish percentage of my mutt-like heritage was one of the smallest at less than 25% of my genetic makeup. If you saw how my family celebrated St. Patrick's Day, though, you would agree I had earned the mass of freckles over tan-resistant skin. Any excuse for a food celebration truly brings out the best in my fam but this day is practically as big as some people's Thanksgivings. Several corned beefs, loaves of soda bread and pounds of potatoes and cabbage are consumed on the 17th. The boiled food somehow strikes a chord in our bellies.

This day is even more significant now that I have "diluted" my husband's pure Irish gene pool. You don't marry someone named "Torren Doherty" and live down the fact that you are not even a "halfie." I have managed to make up for the lack of red hair by dutifully preparing variations of corned beef and cabbage over the past six years. Moreover, I have learned how to incorporate the lovely Irish pastime of alcohol into my meals. A few Irish cream and stout-tinged recipes will be making their debuts on this holiest of months.
Sorry, Dad, every day's Italian Day, right?

Irish Stout Brownie Cups with a Wee Bit O' Green

Yield: about 4 dozen
INGREDIENTS
1/2 C unsalted butter
6 oz. bittersweet (not unsweetened) chocolate
1 C granulated sugar
8 oz. Irish Stout, room temp. (chocolate or cream stout would be AMAZING, too)
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 bag of Creme De Menthe Hershey's Kisses (interchangeable with other Kiss creations, obviously!)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease mini cupcake/tartlet pan thoroughly or use mini cupcake papers.  Unwrap four dozen Kisses and set aside.
Melt butter and chocolate in a saucepan over medium heat until combined (they can also be melted in the microwave on high, stirring every 30 seconds).  Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
In a large bowl, combine sugar and vanilla.  Add in melted chocolate until fully incorporated.  Mix flour and baking powder in a separate bowl and add to chocolate mixture, stirring to get rid of any white streaks.  (OK, I am going to tell a little secret here and say that it is rare that I actually mix the flour/leavening agents in their own bowl because I am lazy and hate to have extra dishes to clean...moving on!)  Pour chocolate stout into the batter and stir to fully combine.
Spoon batter into mini tins filling about halfway.  This should yield two batches of twenty-four each.  Place a Kiss in the center of each brownie cup and bake for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven, let cool to room temperature and carefully twist out each brownie.  You may need to go around the edge with a butter knife to loosen them up a bit.  Perfect little leprechaun proportions.

Nutrition per each: 79 cal, 3g fat, 9mg sodium, 12g carb, 8g sugar, 1g protein