Brownies

Woo Hoo, I've made it to a year of blogging.  I told the Husband that I would get bored way before a year came round.  So my anniversary post is going to be a brownie recipe.

Mmmm, lovely brownies. I do love them, and this is an easy recipe to remember and to make.  I love that you can mix it all in one pan ready for baking. The less washing up the better in my books. Again I think I originally found this recipe on the Money Saving Expert forums, but I haven't written down where I found it, so honestly it could be from anywhere.  I have a big folder filled with scraps of paper/envelopes/important letters from the kids school with my scribbles on them.  Mainly I just write down the ingredients and hope that I remember the method when I next come to them...

Probably why my cooking can be hit or miss.  I don't even bother getting the folder out to make these brownies anymore, I have memorised the recipe and even when I forget things (like baking powder) they tend to turn out ok!

Chocolate Brownie Recipe:

100g Chocolate

70g Butter

170g sugar

2 eggs

tsp vanilla

70g flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

Melt the chocolate and the butter together in a pan.

Once melted add the sugar (pretend you can't see the amount of that going in).

Let it cool a little and add the vanilla and the eggs.  You just don't want the eggs to cook on the top of it, it only need a couple of mins.

Then add the flour and the baking powder (they rise better when it is included!)

You can then choose whether to put them in a small tin and have big chunky thick brownies or spread out more thinly in a larger tin.  I normally go with the larger tin because then you can get more brownies from your mix.

I bake them in an A4-is sized tin at 160 degrees for about 15-20 mins.  You have to wait for it to crack on top.  Too little time and you'll end up with a fudge-y mess. Too much time and you'll end up with something that is more biscuit like, which I find disappointing.  I like fudgier brownies.

I've played with these to add different flavours too.
Chocolate Orange - add some zest and some orange flavouring in place of the vanilla.  

Chocolate Chilli - I added some chilli puree in place of the vanilla, though I'm sure it would work with finely chopped chilli too (only a little)
Chocolate Marmite - I added a teaspoon of marmite to the mix.  Not my favourite, although I do love marmite, so personally wouldn't recommend.
Chocolate Almond - replace the vanilla extract with almond extract.  Yummy marzipan flavour, disliked by the Husband and my son - such a shame...

I think coffee would work really well with them as well - if anyone else in the family would eat them I would try adding 2 teaspoons of instant coffee with the melted mixture.  Mmm, mocha brownies.  Likewise I think mint brownies would work really well if you replaced the vanilla with peppermint essence.

Enjoy!