Brazil Nut Chocolate Cookies

I like chocolate covered Brazil nuts. It was only natural that I should then make chocolate cookies and put Brazil nuts in said chocolate cookies.

I know I am not the first person to think of putting Brazil nuts in chocolate cookies. However it was the first time I put this combination together and it was delicious!

There seems to be a lot of stresses on being the first to do something. It starts at such a young age. Not that long ago I had my youngest throw a tantrum because her sister went down the stairs first.

This was first thing in the morning and I was standing in the bedroom door half awake trying to reason with her that it doesn't matter who is first because the end result will be the same. They will both be down the stairs.

Whatever logic I was trying to instil in her that morning wasn't working. My patience having reached its limit, I yelled to her sister get up here and walk down with her. The reasoning being that that way they would both be “first.”

It’s kinda like that with these cookies. Someone else may have made chocolate cookies with Brazil nuts before me AKA going down the stairs first. However once the cookies were baked the end result was the same we had cookies! AKA we all ended up at the bottom of the stairs.

So that we are all at the bottom of the stairs here’s how I made these cookies…

Brazil Nut Chocolate Cookies 

200g dark chocolate

100g butter, room temperature

100g caster sugar

150g light brown sugar

2 large eggs

130g plain flour

50g cocoa powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

¼ tsp salt

100g dark chocolate chunks

150g brazil nuts, chopped

Heat the oven to 160C fan/180C/gas mark 4 and line 2 baking trays with greaseproof paper. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a simmering pot of water. Leave to cool.
Beat the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until just combined. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, bicarb, and salt together before adding half to the butter mixture. Once it’s incorporated add the rest of the flour mixture. Once it’s all combined mix in the melted chocolate, before folding in the chocolate chunks and brazil nuts.

Using an ice cream scoop scoop out the batter and place them on the baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes or until the edges get a little crispy. Allow to cool for at least 5 minutes before cooling completely on a wire rack. Enjoy!

notes: Today is the first of a new year for all of us! I still like to go on social media at midnight to tell my friends in America that the New Year has arrived. It’s my way of bragging that I am in the New Year first! This recipe is adapted from The Boy Who Bakes by Edd Kimber. AKA or also-known-as.

I called them "wonderful" so they said Wonderful - if you insist

Fudge is a wonderful thing.

I have nothing to back that up with except that it is. Those who disagree well, go right ahead. I think fudge is loved by many and doesn’t need to defend itself against the non-fudge lovers.

Muffins are also wonderful.

Mostly eaten for breakfast where I come from they don’t get the spotlight very often. They are just so easy to make and so versatile that I am surprised we don’t see more of them.

When I had decided I wanted to make muffins, I had also decided I didn’t want a breakfast muffin. You know the fruity or oaty or disguised as healthy muffins. First I thought toffee or caramel or something like that.

The "something like that" turned out to be fudge. Fudge has a lot of cousins in the confectionery world! Such as toffee, Scottish Tablet, caramel, taffy, butterscotch etc... They are all made in a similar manner with similar ingredients and turn out similar when set. However they are not the same!

I choose Thornton’s Vanilla Fudge because it is one of those treats I buy myself whenever I’m in town. Their fudge and their chocolate covered Brazil nuts so good! I happened to have some sitting in my cupboard, kind of random, but not really in this house! So, into the muffins it went! The fudge not the chocolate covered Brazil nuts there weren't any of those left! 

Vanilla Fudge Muffins:

300g self-rising flour

1 tsp baking powder

115g golden caster sugar

100g Thornton’s Vanilla Fudge or other flavor, cut up into little pieces

125ml milk

100ml sour cream

1 medium egg, beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract or paste

60g butter, melted

Pre-heat the oven 200C/gas6. Line a muffin/cupcake pan.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl before adding the sugar. Then add the chopped up fudge. In a jug or medium bowl lightly beat together the milk, sour cream, egg, and vanilla extract. Then gently stir in the melted butter before pouring into the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined and spoon or using an ice cream scoop fill the lined pan.

Bake for 20 minutes until golden. Leave to cool a while before devouring. Everyone knows muffins are best eaten warm!

I’m glad I settled on fudge for these muffins as they came out wonderfully! They are definitely not breakfast muffins!

notes: I’m sorry I didn't go into how fudge/toffee/caramel etc… are different. If it were something you’d like to find out buy a bunch of all the different confectioneries and have fun comparing and contrasting! Thornton's is a great place to start! I do recommend using good quality fudge like Thornton’s Vanilla Fudge or whatever flavor takes your fancy! Chocolate covered fudge or run raisin would go well in these muffins too! The fudge used for these muffins was provided for me; please see my contact/policy tab above for more information. Recipe was adapted from Baking Magic by Kate Shirazi

Forever Nigella #21 - Christmas Rocky Road!!

I do love Nigella and have seen the Forever Nigella banner before, but never really looked into it. When Laura, from the blog Laura Loves Cakes, said she was hosting this months Forever Nigella I knew I was going to tag along! That and I always reach for my Nigella books this time of year. Her recipes are indulgent and comforting exactly what you need in the winter!

I choose Christmas Rocky Road off of Nigella’s website and it says it can also be found in Nigella Christmas. I made a few changes to suit what was already in my cupboard - I used 200g for both dark and milk chocolate where the original recipe it’s split 250 dark/150 milk. Also my glace cherries were not red, just plain. I do realize that by using plain glace cherries it kind of misses the point. You would choose red ones because red is one of the colors associated with Christmas and they would stand out once the bars were all cut up! I also choose to opt out of edible glitter, even though I have some. It’s not my favorite thing, edible glitter. I don’t really have a reason - I just don’t like it. 

I wrapped mine up in a festive holiday bag and gave it to our dentist office. :0) Might be a weird gift to people who make a living out of keeping teeth clean, but my eldest has a couple cavities (I know, I know!) and they have taken great care of her there. I just wanted them to know they are appreciated! That doesn't mean I didn't try the end pieces when cutting it up! It was gorgeous! I love the amaretti biscuits in there! Think I might need to make another batch sooner rather then later! And I'm not sure I will share!! Enjoy!! 

Christmas Rocky Road:

200g dark chocolate

200g milk chocolate

175g butter, soft

4 tbsp golden syrup

200g amaretti biscuits, smashed

200g brazil nuts, shelled and bashed

150g glace cherries, red

125g mini marshmallows, save the leftovers for hot chocolate

1 tbsp icing sugar

sprinkling of edible glitter, optional

1. Break up both the dark and milk chocolate, then with the butter and golden syrup, melt in a heavy-based pan over a gentle heat. Once melted take off the heat.
2. Add smashed amaretti biscuits, bashed brazil nuts, glace cherries (I used regular ones as that’s what was in my cupboard), and mini marshmallows to the melted chocolate and carefully coat.
3. Pour the mixture into any tray or tin you have - It all depends on how fat or thin you want them. I used my 9x9 silicone pan and Nigella uses a 236mm x 296mm foil tin. On another note if you don’t use silicone or a foil tray line your tin with clingfilm or foil for easy release - Smooth as best you can.
4. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 ½ to 2 hours.
5. Remove the block of Rocky Road from the tin and sprinkle with the icing sugar and edible glitter if using.
6. Cut into any size squares you want! Visit the link below to Nigella’s site for how to make about 24 even squares and for make-ahead tips! :0) 

I used a little more then 1 tbsp icing sugar....hahaha!

Thank you to Laura @lauralovescakes for hosting find her site here!

Thank you to Maison Cupcake founder of Forever Nigella blog hop!

Nigella’s official site 

Nigella Christmas: Amazon UK, other sources