First of all, when I say snow I really mean icing sugar. Secondly, when I cook brownies, I cook with butter. Let’s be honest, butter is amazing. I’m all for healthy eating and a good salad but when I cook cakes or brownies or any sort of dessert – its never “low fat”, never with margarine and never without guilt. But that’s ok every now and again, its Christmas and people like an excuse to indulge.

These brownies are awesome, old fashioned with no nuts and no extra bits. Pure, unadulterated chocolate bliss.

I like these warm, straight out of the oven with a bowl of ice-cream on the side, or when they’re cool and a little bit chewy. So what I’m really trying to say is that I like brownies, anyway/anytime. I made these for morning tea at my work as a little Christmas treat – tis the season after all. Lets just say they didn’t last long and there was a lot of finger licking post brownie annihilation! I’d call that a success any day of the week.

Makes 16

Out of the oven, into my mouth

The list:

1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter

1 3/4 cups packed light brown sugar

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch salt

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

About 180g milk chocolate, chopped into small  chunks (or 1 cup chips)

Confectioners’ sugar, to dust, optional

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Melt the butter over a gentle heat in a medium-sized saucepan.
2. When it’s melted, add the sugar, stirring with a wooden spoon (still over a low heat) to help it blend with the melted butter.
3. Whisk together the cocoa powder, flour, baking soda and pinch of salt, and then stir into the pan; when mixed (this will be a very dry mixture, and not wholly blended at this stage), remove from the heat.
4. In a bowl or jug, whisk the eggs with the vanilla extract and then mix into the brownie mixture in the pan.
5. Stir in the chopped chocolate and quickly pour and scrape into a baking paper-lined baking tin or disposable foil pan, spreading the mixture with a spatula, and cook in the preheated oven for about 20 to 25 minutes. It will look set, dark and dry on top, but when you feel the surface, you will sense it is still wibbly underneath and a cake tester will come out gungy. This is desirable.
6. Transfer the pan to a rack to cool a little before cutting into 16 pieces and dusting with confectioners’ sugar.

Dust with icing sugar snow for a holiday feel

Perfect treats

Cut into squares of any size you like

*Recipe sourced from Nigella Lawson