Johnnie Walker Golden Brownies

This Brownie is not brown at all, it is a beautiful golden color. I developed the recipe one cold day when I was craving butterscotch. I did not want to make the usual butterscotch pudding, though I love that too! I was looking for something different. Whenever I find myself in this state, I immediately go to two places - the pantry and the liquor cabinet! I look at what I have and let the flavor possibilities dance around in my head. On this particular day I found some Valrhona white chocolate and a fresh bottle of Johnnie Walker Gold Label. There it was - rich, BUTTERY, white chocolate and SCOTCH! Not just any scotch, Gold Label is the quintessential dessert scotch. It has incredible honey notes mingled with heather, and would marry perfectly with white chocolate. From these two lofty ingredients a new brownie was born!

Johnnie Walker Golden Brownies

Makes 18 to 24 Brownies

• 8 ounces unsalted butter
• 8 ounces Valrhona white chocolate
• 4 large eggs
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup Johnnie Walker Gold Label
• 2 teaspoons Tahitian vanilla
• 1 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour

Place oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly butter a 9 x 13 glass baking pan.

Melt butter and white chocolate together over extremely low heat until just melted. Stir often to quicken the process. Remove from heat and add the sugar, using a whisk, mix to incorporate. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing to thoroughly incorporate each one. Add salt, vanilla, and scotch. Mix to incorporate. Finally, add the flour and mix until just incorporated and no dry flour is visible.

Spread batter into prepared pan, smooth the top, and bake for 40 minutes or until a wooden skewer comes out with a few moist crumbs. Remove from oven and cool on a rack to room temperature. Once cooled, the brownies may be cut into 18 to 24 portions depending on how large you would like them to be.

BTKW Tip: Storing Fresh Truffles

When Winter Truffles are in season, I like to use them often. One of the great luxuries of being a Private Chef is that I am not constrained by food costs. I am one of those lucky Chefs that get to cook with all of the finest ingredients from around the world. Black Truffles are one of my favorites! Their intoxicating fragrance and deep, earthy flavor are unparalleled by any other ingredient.

For all of their intensity, they are still delicate. If abused, they can go bad quickly. Storage is the key. If you are fortunate enough to get hold of some fresh Truffles, store them in the refrigerator, in an airtight container on a bed of Arborio rice. The rice has two benefits. It absorbs any moisture that may harm your Truffles, and it also absorbs the perfume and flavor of the Truffles. After you have used your Truffles, you can use the rice to make a Truffle-scented risotto. This is a great way to get every bit of enjoyment out of your investment!

Truffles stored this way will last for about two weeks. After two weeks you may want to consider poaching and freezing your Truffles, but I doubt that they will last that long once you start cooking with them!