One day there'll be a page here just for recipes, but until then I'll just drop them randomly into my blog.

I'd never made chocolate brownies before today, they just seemed too extravagant - I mean, a whole block of real chocolate, just for cooking with? Then a certain supermarket employed a Jedi Knight for a day (probably hired from one of those charity shops I mysteriously have to go into) and made me buy a big slab of "quality" cooking chocolate because it was broken and thus reduced. Sigh.

Anyway, I dug out a recipe given me by a friend (thanks Charlotte!) ages ago, and set to work. It scared me a bit at first: Cocoa powder *and* chocolate?! But heck, who am I to argue? And my life they are delicious.

Chewy Chocolate Brownies
(makes enough for one tray)

100g/4oz unsalted butter
100g/4oz plain chocolate
300g/10oz caster sugar (no really)
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
125g/4oz plain flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
50g/2oz chopped walnuts (or hazelnuts could work just as well I guess)
50g/2oz chocolate chips (white, brown or mixed)

Preheat oven to 180'C/Gas 4
Butter and line 18cm/7" tin
Melt butter and choc, and then cool slightly
Add to bowl with sugar and vanilla and stir in. Add eggs one at a time, stirring well after each one. Add cocoa and flour and beat for 30 secs-1 min until smooth. Stir in walnuts and choc chips. Spoon into tin and bake for 30-40 mins, until cocktail stick comes out almost clean (I used quite a shallow tin and they only took 25 mins - just keep an eye on 'em).

Give any spoons to be licked and smeared by small children, it's traditional and brings good luck (not to mention peace and quiet).

Once they'd cooled I cut out heart shapes with a cutter, which gave lots of romantic chocolate yummies, plus a whole heap of offcuts to munch through :)