Chocolate and mixed nut bownie cookies

Merry Christmas, everyone!

If you're still up for some Christmas baking, here's a recipe you can easily make out of regular cupboard ingredients - which is exactly why I made them. I was stuck at home the other day when one of my offsprings decided to throw a runny nose and run a bit of a fever, and all the Christmas baking I had planned involved a trip to the shops! You can use any nuts you like, mine happened to be walnuts and toasted, unsalted peanuts. (Thermomix instructions are included in the recipe)

I instantly fell in love with them, they have everything that makes a great Christmas cookie, a bit of chocolate, a bit of nuts and a great look! They're soft at the start and after a few days turn slightly chewy, which I think is my preferred way of eating them. With a glass of mulled wine in front of the fireplace, nothing is better to see out a fun-filled Christmas day!

Chocolate and mixed nut bownie cookies
(yields 3 baking sheets full)

175 g dark chocolate
125 g butter
4 eggs
350 g sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
100 g walnuts
60 g raw peanuts**
280 g self-raising flour
icing sugar

Melt the butter and chopped chocolate in a double-boiler or a glass bowl over simmering water (bain-marie). When about half of the chocolate has melted, take the bowl out and stir until you have a smooth consistency (this will save you time and prevents the chocolate from getting too hot).

Place the chopped walnuts and peanuts in a pan on the stove and toast lightly to release their aroma. Chop roughly in a food processor (TX 4 for just a few seconds)

Beat the eggs and sugar in a bowl until light, fluffy and pale. (TX 5, 1 minute)
Add the vanilla extract, nuts and the chocolate, making sure it has cooled down enough (ca. 40C)

Whisk until combined (TX 5, 15 seconds). Add the flour and combine to a smooth dough (TX 5, 30 seconds).

Place bowl in the fridge for 3-4 hours for mixture to firm up.

Preheat oven to 170C (no fan).

When the mixture has set, roll balls between your slightly moist hands (about 1 heaped tsp of mixture at a time), pat down a little and press the top into the icing sugar for a good coating.

Place on a non-stick mat on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 15 minutes.

* I adapted the recipe from familyfunrecipes.
** (you can use toasted, unsalted from a bag, if you prefer)

Comments

[Trig]

Have a great Christmas, Johanna, and a very happy New Year. Best regards.

[Kat]

Oh these look beautiful. Happy holidays!

[johanna]

Thanks Trig its nice of you to think of me during those special times. I hope you have a great time up north, we are in London this year, have my parents over and are sorely missing the snow!

Take care
Johanna

[Myfrenchkitchen]

Hope you had a wonderful season and that the new year has a lot of joy in store for you!
ronelle

[johanna]

Hi ronell

I also wish you all the best for the upcoming year, many happy moments culinarily and otherwise...
May 2010 be full of treats!

Xx

[Katie]

These sound divine! A mix of brownie and cookie - yum. Hpe you had a great Christmas

[S Lloyd]

Awesome blog that you have there.
Very inspiring. May I ask you something: what type of digital camera + lens are you using? I am also a foodie blogger (focused lately on the top restaurants of Montreal) and do wish to swap my compact camera for a serious Dslr that will take sharp close up eye candy pictures of food at restaurants in particular, food anywhere else in general. Thanks for your inputs.

[johanna]

Hi there

Thanks for your comment.
I use a canon eos d20, no extra lenses. V happy with it, but then, I am probably not the most gifted or aspirational food photographer out there... I have never taken a course and could probably get so much more out of my camera!

But this dslr has changed my pictures instantly I feel its doing all the work for me, I dont have time to fan around much or rely on daylight.
I was just commenting to my mum te other day when we were comparing holiday pics that canon have far superior colours in all their cameras... She used my compact canon on australia while my dad was taking pretty much the same shots with a nikon and her (technically completely inert) took far better pictures... Mostly i thought diwn to yhe colour the camera gives you.

Good luck with your search
Johanna 

[Nic]

Those look wonderful!
Hope you had a great Christmas, and Happy New Year!

[Jeanne @ Cooksister!]

Mmm, I'll have mine a little chewy please!! Hope you and your gorgeous family had a wonderful Christmas - it certanly sounds like you did. And clearly I'm biased (seeing as we own two identical cameras!) but I have to agree - the Canon digital colour rendition is outstanding.

[cake decorating books]

Looks delicious! I've made similar, but a bit smaller and without the nuts. Shaped them into little balls, so they get crispy outside and slightly chewy/soft middle :)

Deb

[Silver]

Awesome! Looks yummy , and a good sweet for christmas days. Probably I will try to make it.