Amaretto Brownies

I usually make these very fudgy chocolate brownies which I think are the best brownies I've ever tasted... might be a bit biased, but they are damn good! Anyway, being the huge brownie fan that I am, I have been on this "must find new brownie recipes" kick lately. I'm also a huge amaretto fan (well, almonds in general fan) so you can imagine my excitement when I found this! I almost started turning cartwheels down the hallway! ;) That would be quite a sight - I think I haven't done a cartwheel since I was 14...
Anyway, these are a little more on the cake brownie side, but they are still really good! DH tried one and said "wow, did you put a whole bottle of amaretto in these things?!" No, honey, that's just 2 tbsp. and a big hunk of almond paste! ;) Yes, I was eating the almond paste straight from the tube.. maybe it's a good thing that stuff is $8 for a tiny little tube! Prevent me from eating it so much!

This will make 48 brownies - I actually cut the recipe in half which is usually not a good idea! However, seemed to work Ok for these!

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter
1/2 of an 8-ounce tube of almond paste (works out to be about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 eggs
2 tbsp. amaretto or milk (now who on earth will sub milk for amaretto?! If you do have to sub milk, you could maybe add some almond extract to it...)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. aluminium-free baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 cup milk
Optional: fudge frosting (I'll make sure I post the recipe I use) and some chopped almonds to use as a topping

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1. Grease a 15x10x1-inch baking pan and set it aside. In a pan, heat the sugar, butter, almond paste, and cocoa powder over medium heat until the butter is melted. I also used a wooden spoon to "smush" the almond paste around until it was all melted, too. Remove from the heat and cool slightly (we are not going for amaretto scrambled eggs here!) Add the eggs, amaretto, and vanilla; beat with a wooden spoon just until combined.

2. Combine flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Add the flour mixture and milk alternatively to the chocolate mixture, beating after each addition.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean (mine needed about 23 mins). Cool on a wire rack for 2 hours. If desired, frost with fudge frosting and sprinkle with chopped or sliced almonds. Cut into bars.

Reference:
I found this in the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book.
Better Homes and Gardens Test Kitchen (1996). Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book. Meredith Publishing Group: Des Moines, IA.