For the past year and a half (since December 2010 to be exact) my life was consumed with wedding planning. I had a serious case of “Bride Brain” for months and naturally, I found myself on Pinterest hours at a time browsing for cake designs, color palettes, flower arrangements, hairstyles, makeup inspiration, teardrop earrings, a “something blue,” the perfect heel… yes, nearly everything! And this was all before Pinterest created a “Wedding” category.

One evening as my eyes began to blur at all the pins I collected, the most amazing DIY groomsmen gift caught my eye. It was rustic. It was manly. It had everything a guy could ever want in a gift — alcohol and food.

Using this post as inspiration for Mike’s groomsmen, I bought exact custom box replicas from Girl and Tree on Etsy. The shop owner, Victoria Walsh was extremely professional, accommodating and provided a quick turn-around. Once I had the boxes, the rest was a synch!

I took a trip to Michael’s and bought brown crinkled paper, twine and mini colored clothespins. Rather than buy Maker’s Mark whiskey, Mike opted for mini bottles of Johnnie Walker to complement small flasks we found online (unfortunately the Pottery Barn flask in the original post was no longer in stock by the time we ordered *UGH*!).

As for the incredible black & tan brownies, I decided to bake those two nights before our rehearsal dinner. They were absolutely delicious, with extra brownies to spare for the bridesmaids!

With a tie of twine around the box, our groomsmen gifts were complete!

Many, many thanks to Floridian Weddings for coming up with such a novel gift idea and for providing the “Thank You,” “Cheers,” and “Black & Tan Brownies” labels.

Black & Tan Brownies

From Cooking Light, March 2010

Ingredients

Tan Brownies:

• 6 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups lightly packed brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Black Brownies:

• 3 ounces dark or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup Guinness Stout
• 1 cup ounces all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Place one rack in lower third of oven; place another rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 350°. Butter a 13 x 9-inch baking pan (making sure to butter the sides), line with parchment, and butter the parchment; set aside.
2. To prepare Tan Brownies, place 6 tablespoons butter and brown sugar in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in 2 eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt, stirring well. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture, beating just until combined. Spoon into the prepared pan coated with cooking spray, spreading evenly with a knife or rubber spatula; try to get as even a surface as possible. Bake at 350° in lower third of oven for 15 minutes.
3. To prepare Black Brownies, melt chocolate and 4 tablespoons butter in a large microwave-safe bowl on HIGH for 1 minute or until melted, stirring after every 20 seconds until smooth. Add granulated sugar, stirring until well combined. Add 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and Guinness, stirring with a whisk until well combined. In a small bowl, combine flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt, stirring well. Add flour mixture to chocolate mixture, stirring to combine. Pour mixture evenly over Tan Brownies; avoid mixing into the tan layer.
4. Bake on the center rack at 350° for 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into center comes out almost clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack; cut into squares.