Easy Chocolate brownies with cranberries and hazelnuts.
I’ve got a thing about eating chocolate and nuts together. Last year I posted my new and improved ‘Just Beet It‘ brownies that had walnuts and more recently, for Easter, I posted a Creme Egg Double Chocolate Muffins recipe with pistachios.
This time round it’s the turn of hazelnuts to make an appearance. Chocolate and hazelnuts have long had a happy relationship. Nutella instantly springs to mind, and so does fellow blogger Danni Martin’s Healthier Chocolate Spread.
Brownies are my favourite to make when you want something chocolatey that’s simple and cause a minimum of fuss. I made these in celebration of my blog turning 2 years old on 30th May. I’ve been so busy of late that I completely forgot all about it! I’m so happy to still be blogging and feel like I’ve really come a long way since I started. Unlike the Just Beet It brownies which were more compact, these easy chocolate brownies are more spongey and light. I used a mix of whole hazelnuts and chopped, just to play around with the texture.
After trying a yummy chocolate and raspberry brownie when out for lunch, I discovered that I really like fruit in brownies too. Being a fan of the tangy taste of cranberries, I knew they would work well with the chocolate. I used dried cranberries as I always have dried fruit in my pantry, but I can imagine these would taste great with fresh cranberries too, if you have any on hand
Easy Chocolate Brownies
Ingredients
- 350G dark chocolate ( or milk chocolate if you prefer)
- 300G unsalted butter
- 6 free range eggs
- 450G caster sugar
- 1 tsp vanila extract
- 225g self raisng flour
- 100g dried cranberries
- 150g hazelnuts
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 160c (fan) and line a roasting tin.
- In a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of hot water, break the chocolate into pieces and place in the bowl with the butter. Stir until the the mixture has completely melted. Don't overheat or let the water boil.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar and vanilla extract.
- Pour in the chocolate and butter mixture and stir until all combined.
- Add the flour, cranberries, hazelnuts and pinch of salt.
- Pour into a lined baking tray and bake for 20 – 25 minutes, depending on your oven.