Chocolate Brownies {recipe}

I made these delicious chocolate brownies again, and every time I do I am (or rather my tummy is!) thrilled with what comes out of the oven.

125g butter

45g cocoa powder

2 large eggs

200g castor sugar

150 self raising flour

60g chopped dark chocolate

makes 12 brownies

**I doubled the recipe and ended up making about 35 delicious, melt-in-your-mouth brownies**

1. Melt the butter. Remove from the heat and stir in the cocoa. 

2. Beat the eggs until light, add the sugar and beat well. Stir in the cocoa mixture. Sift in the flour, and fold in along with the chocolate.

3. Pour into a greased and lined 20cm square tin. Bake in a pre-heated oven  for 25 mins or until cooked through but still moist. 

Don't forget to store them in an unusual looking tin for safe keeping!

WholeWheat & Oats BarOne Chocolate Cookies...recipe

Ingredients

2 3/4 cup / 255g rolled oats (not instant)
1 cup / 125g whole wheat flour
2/3 cup / 45g wheat bran (or germ)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 cup / 225g unsalted butter
1 cup / 185g natural cane sugar or light brown sugar
1 cup / 170 g firmly packed Muscovado or dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
200g Bar One (I used 2 x EXTRA sized bars) chopped.

Preheat the oven to 350F / 180 C.

Line two baking sheets with wax paper and set aside. What worked better for me after a few tries was Holsum smeared all over the pans, finished off with flour.

In a medium bowl combine the oats, flour, wheat bran, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Either by hand, or using an electric mixer, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Beat in sugar for 3+ minutes, scraping down sides a few times along the way. Incorporate the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla - scraping the sides of the bowl another time or two. Add the dry mixture, and stir until everything barely comes together. Then stir in the chocolate, mixing until it is evenly distributed throughout the dough.

Use a small ice-cream scoop, spoon, or 1/4 cup measuring cup, to make uniform dough balls. I used a metal 1/4-cup measuring cup, filling it about 3/4 full. Arrange each cookie at least 3-inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. They'll flatten out quite a bit. I squashed a small chunk of bar one into each dough ball for some extra yumminess.

For extra crisp cookies, bake until deeply, deeply golden on the bottom, about 15+ minutes. Rotate the pans once about 2/3 the way through baking - back to front, top to bottom. Like your cookies a little chewier? Bake for less time. Cool on a rack.

Makes about 2 dozen large cookies.


Prep time: 20 min - Cook time: 15 min

{adapted from my absolute favourite recipe site: 100 cookbooks}

*Chocolate Chip Cookies* for Valentine's Day

This Valentine's Day Farmboy and I decided to keep things simple...I decided to whip up some Chocolate Chip Cookies, Martha Sterwart style and surprise him with them after our early morning gym session (*the gym session was needed after I stuffed my face last night with cookie dough!). The results were heavenly, melt in your mouth, choc filled bites of yummyness, see for yourself!

Ingredients:

200g butter, just melted (not too hot)

¾ cup of brown sugar 

¼ cup of Castor Sugar 

1 large egg and one large egg yolk

2 tsp of vanilla essence½ tsp of salt

2 cups and ¼ cup of cake flour

½ tsp of bicarbonate of soda

1 cup of dark chocolate chips

Step 1. Preheat the oven to 160C°. Place one rack at the top and the other in the middle of the oven. Have two large baking sheets ready. Combine the melted butter and sugar in a mixing bowl with an electric whisk

Step 2. Add the eggs, vanilla, and salt. Add one cup of the flour, then the bicarb and the remaining flour. Combine on slowest speed.

Step 3. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Step 4: Grease the baking sheets with butter or Spray ‘n Cook. Roll the dough into golf-size balls and place on the baking sheet, allowing about 6cm between each ball for spreading. Place the baking sheets into the oven and bake for about 15-18 minutes until golden brown. Half way through baking, turn the sheets and switch racks, so the cookies can bake evenly.

Step 5: Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets. Remove from the baking sheets with a flat spatula and serve warm if possible. They will be just fine served cool as well and should be stored in an airtight container.

Lastly, wrap up to look like fancy smancy cookies, and present to your loved one...be ready to receive lots of smooches of appreciation :)

*Recipe borrowed from here*