Pretending it's not "that time of year"

It's not that I want to look like some kind of Dickensian character or anything, I've just been super busy and not ready to do all the Christmasy stuff I usually do. Plus, I do get kind of shat off by carol overload before December even starts. To get in the spirit I bought some bonbon bangers today so I'm getting there.

Anyway, when I do finally get into Christmas mode, the plan is to post a bunch of seasonally-appropriate recipes on here (I'm thinking mini puddings, shortbread, almond splinters and Italian almond biscuits this year... yum!). Until then, I thought this'd be a good segue into the season, both Christmasy and brownie! My flatmate also thinks they would be awesome with 1/2 cup of white chocolate bits but it's raining right now and I'm not wearing any shoes.

These brownies are more cakey than my usual recipes and originally come from Taste, though with a tiny bit of tweaking.

Chocolate Cranberry Brownies
175g butter, chopped
200g dark chocolate
4 eggs
3/4 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/4 cups plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup cocoa


Oven @ 170c                                                     20cm square cake pan lined with baking paper

Melt butter and chocolate together in the microwave. Stir to combine and allow to cool slightly.

Mix in eggs, brown sugar and cranberries and then the flour, baking powder and cocoa. Stir until just combined. Spread into prepared cake pan and bake for 35 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out slightly sticky. 

Set aside in the pan for 10 minutes to cool before turning out.

The thing about low fat...

I've spent the past three days trying to come up with some sort of witty anecdote to go with this recipe... I got nothin'.

I guess the reason I made it was to try to find a recipe for some health-conscious friends that wasn't entirely loaded with calories. While it's true that this recipe has about half the butter that a normal brownie recipe has, I can't pretend it isn't laden with sugar. Still, you could probably imagine you're getting extra roughage or something.
Of all the "healthy" brownie recipes I tried, this one seemed the best - it has a nice texture and isn't rubbery like some fruit brownies can be. It's also quite bittersweet and larger than a few others I have on here. I would recommend aiming for a slightly undercooked result to avoid it getting dry.

Just to prove how hypocritical I am, I've written this while stuffing my face in a  chocolate cafe.

Apple Sauce Brownies
250g dark chocolate
100g butter
150g unsweetened apple sauce
1 cup caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp instant coffee powder
1 tbsp coffee or chocolate liqueur

4 eggs
1 cup plain flour
1 tsp cocoa powder
1 cup dark chocolate chips (or walnuts)

Oven @ 160c                                   23cm square cake pan lined with baking paper

Melt the chocolate, butter and apple sauce together. Allow the mixture to cool slightly.

Stir in the sugar, essence, coffee and liqueur.
Add the eggs and mix in well, then stir in the cocoa and the flour and stir until just combined.
Spread mixture into the lined pan and press chocolate chips or nuts on top.

Bake for 25 minutes then stand for 10 minutes before turning out. 

First Among Brownies

This is the recipe that started everything. It's fudgy enough but light enough that everyone loves it. I generally only put nuts in it, it isn't dense enough to support a whole lot of extras. The original recipe includes frosting but I never use it, who can be bothered?

This is a variation of one published in the Australian Women's Weekly Biscuits & Slices book.

Crowd Pleaser Brownies
125g butter
185g dark chocolate
3/4 cup caster sugar
2 tsp vanilla essence
2 eggs
1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I'd go with walnuts)

20 cm square cake pan, lined with baking paper.                  Oven @ 160c

Melt butter and chocolate together (either in a saucepan or in the microwave). Stir in sugar and essence, then eggs, flour, and nuts.

Pour into prepared pan and bake for 30 mins or until just firm. Cool in pan.