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Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Sand Art Brownies

Sand Art Brownie

Psst… I’m already getting excited for Christmas.  It’s my first time that I have my own home to decorate and I really want to do it right now – except it is only November and Simon looks at me at any mention of Christmas and just shakes his head (which is why my excitement for Christmas is a secret because I’m sure most people would agree with him).  However, I didn’t think he would say ‘no’ to baking.  I think I am going to channel my eagerness into some Christmas-ey baking which might seem way to early for most of you, but it does mean that when Christmas does arrive you should have a few cute recipes on here to choose from when you are feeling festive (Courtenay also goes crazy for Christmas so you will probably see recipes from her too).

This jar of brownie ingredients looks really beautiful and would make an awesome Christmas gift.  I’ve tried baking as gifts for people in the past and it is actually stressful – late nights baking enough stuff and repeating batches of biscuits as one always gets burnt!  This idea takes the fuss out of it all; simply put the ingredients in a jar, tie it with a pretty ribbon and write up a recipe card.  It also means the recipient can bake the brownies when they feel like it instead of worrying about the baking you’ve given them going to waste because they already have heaps of food about for Christmas.

Now, if you aren’t in a Christmas mood at all you should still give these brownies a go as they are darn delicious!

Makes 16 pieces

1 ½ cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup brown sugar
⅓ cup cocoa
½ cup white sugar
½ cup dark chocolate bits
½ cup white chocolate bits
¾ cup walnut pieces
125g butter, melted
2 eggs, lightly whisked
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

In a 1 – 1.25 litre glass jar, place a layer of ingredients in this order: flour, salt, baking powder, brown sugar, cocoa, white sugar, dark chocolate, (then milk chocolate if you’re a chocolate fiend like me), white chocolate and finish with the walnut pieces.

Message Card

Seal the lid and decorate with a ribbon and card that has the following instructions:

To Make:
Heat oven to 180°C. Line a 20cm square pan with baking paper. Pour the contents of the jar into a bowl and stir to combine. Make a well in the centre and pour in 125g melted butter, 2 beaten eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla essence. Mix until smooth. Pour the mixture into the lined pan and bake for 30 minutes until firm. Cool in the pan and cut into 16 pieces.

Cooked brownies

You can download a printable version of the recipe card instructions and view a quick ‘How To’ guide on how to make a card like the one included in this post here.

4 comments:

  1. It is never too early to decorate for Christmas, in my opinion! Ok, maybe March is too early. Your brownie jars are gorgeous and I love the scope for getting creative on the recipe card/packaging, great idea!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I can't find where to follow you, but I give a jar gift to all of my aunts every year for Christmas, and I think I'll use this one this year :)

    Check out my blog and recipes and follow at http://www.the-not-so-desperate-chef-wife.com/

    I'll keep checking back to follow you!

    Thanks,
    Krista

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for your comment Krista. There is a 'subscribe' function on the right hand side of the blog where you can select to follow posts.
    As you are a blogger member, I would recommend copying our homepage link then go to your blogger dashboard page. Down the bottom of the page is a 'reading list', around here is an 'add' button - click on this and a dialogue box will pop up and that is where you can paste our link in :)
    New posts will then show up in your reading list.
    Another alternative is to use bloglovin' - there's a link for this on the right had side of the blog too.
    Hope this helps :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi, for those that aren't a fan a walnuts could you leave them out or replace with something else?

    ReplyDelete