Ridiculously Good Oreo Fudge Brownies

Bet you are already thinking about when you can next bake.

I am very late to this party, I saw the brownies on Lorraine Pascale's show a few months ago (ok it was January, doesn't seem that long ago!) and ooohed over them and then never got round to making them, which is my usual trick. Ireena made them and so did Katie and I ooohed again.
I kept on buying oreo cookies and they'd get opened and suddenly there were no more oreos. So I bought a pack and hid them at the back of the cupboard for a few weeks, and finally today I made oreo brownies.

I make a lot of brownies but I think these might be the best. Rich, sweet and almost moussey in the middle (from whisking eggs, something I've never done for brownies) and very crispy on top - and then you get an oreo in there too - magic!

You should definitely try these, I think they'd be great in place of birthday cake or even for a dinner party. Or for, you know, eating two in a row. The brownie base itself without the cookies is a great one.

I made three alterations - I didn't include the 2 extra egg yolks - mainly because I didn't have enough eggs but really I felt it was a bit unnecessary. The chocolate was just broken into small pieces, I think grating chocolate would get melty and messy! And I had some fudge chunks lying around so I put those on top before baking, they melted into the batter and then when cooled became crispy and sticky, yum!

Recipe on BBC Food.

Candied Ginger Brownies

You'd think I would have enough brownie recipes on here but I don't think there is such a thing as too many brownie recipes, or too many brownies!

Lately I have been more of a fan of brownies with things in them, before I was more of a chocolate nut and just wanted them to be as chocolatey as possible - which is obviously no bad thing either. But sometimes it is fun to experiment!

Spiced brownies are lovely and these candied ginger ones give you a good hit of ginger in each bite, and a bit of texture from the candied coating.

If you really like ginger I would make your pieces big but if you don't chop them up finer than I did, it will all work out fine either way. These are semi gooey brownies, with a nice crisp top.

100g good quality (70% cocoa or more) dark chocolate
70g butter
100g caster sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
75g self raising flour
1 tsp of baking powder
25g cocoa (or just use more flour)
100g candied ginger, chopped

Preheat your oven to 400f, 200c (180c fan) or gas mark 6

Break your chocolate into pieces and melt together with the butter in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, stirring frequently.
Take the bowl off the heat, leave to cool for a few minutes and then add in sugar and then your eggs one at a time.
Then add in the vanilla. Sift in the rest of the dry ingredients and fold together.
Then carefully fold in your chopped candied ginger, saving some for the top.

Pour into a non stick or greased and lined 9 inch square cake tin and sprinkle over the rest of the ginger. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.

Spiced One Bowl Brownies

I have encountered and made many brownie recipes, each one different from the next in technique and flavour. I like them with coffee, with nuts, even with bacon, but sometimes I want them to be quick and easy - because everyone needs brownies in a hurry sometimes.

These recipes require something which I don't normally ever use in baking - a microwave. The butter and chocolate is melted in the microwave for a couple of minutes and then the other ingredients stirred in one by one.

I've adapted the recipe to include some spices (something that feels very autumnal!) - ginger, cinnamon and smoked paprika - trust me the smoked paprika is good.

I much prefer very gooey brownies but my husband prefers his more like a moist cake - these are more of a cakey brownie with a lightly crisped top. If you like gooeyness then use about 50g less of the flour.

Spiced One Bowl Brownies
adapted from all recipes

NB  - I made this recipe again but with only 75g of flour and 25g cocoa powder, it gave a gooier brownie with a crisper top, good if you like them this way!

100g good quality dark chocolate (70%), broken in to pieces
70g butter
100g sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
150g plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cinamonn
1/2 tsp smoked paprika

Preheat your oven to 400f, 200c or gas mark 6

Put the butter and chocolate into a large microwavable bowl, microwave on high for 2 minutes.
Remove from the microwave and stir together til the chocolate is completely melted in with the butter.
Stir in sugar til combined.
Stir in your eggs one by one and then add in your vanilla.
Sift in your flour, baking powder and spices, fold in to combine.

Pour into a greased and lined, or non stick, square 9inch pan. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until just done - your knife should come out with a few crumbs when inserted - the great thing about brownies is that it isn't a disaster if they are underdone because it equals more gooeyness!

Cooking - Bacon Brownies

Go with me on this one.

It is good, I promise.

And you know I wouldn't lie to you..


This recipe has been on my list for a while, I spotted it over on 17 and Baking and it totally made sense to me. Rich dark chocolate and smoky bacon with a hint of saltiness - and we all know the food world is crazy about salt and sweet right now (salted caramel anyone?).


It is not miles away from the classic bacon and maple syrup combination, you get a nice hit of sweet and a nice hit of salt, but with the brownies you get the dense dark chocolate too.

I make brownies quite often, I have one recipe which I like to stick to but I've been keen to try new ones, the best thing about brownies is that there are so many great recipes out there offering something different but also still giving you that quintessential brownie - gooey and crispy.
This recipe obviously offers something completely different!

It did feel very weird putting bacon into a brownie mix but I stuck with it and I was not disappointed.Try to use the best quality streaky bacon or pancetta you can find, anything cheap will leach out too much water and your brownies won't be good. It should also be smoked. I used good quality smoked pancetta, this crisps up well and won't be filled with water.

Bacon Brownies
makes approx 12 brownies
4 rashers of good quality streaky bacon or pancetta
50g / 2oz dark chocolate (at least 70%), chopped
4 tablespoons good quality cocoa
100g / 40z butter2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
100g plain flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
150g caster sugar


Heat your oven to gas mark 5 / 375f / 190c.Heat up a frying pan on the hob, once hot add your strips of bacon. Fry on each side for a couple of minutes or until nice and crispy. Transfer to paper towels to crisp up further and drain the fat.
Once the bacon is cool cut or tear up into small pieces, about 1cm wide.

Put the chocolate, cocoa and butter in a heatproof glass bowl and heat gently over a pan of simmering water. Stir frequently until everything is melted and combined. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.
Whisk in the sugar and vanilla, then add in your eggs one by one, stir to combine.
Sift in the flour and baking powder and then stir in the bacon.

Add to a grease and lined cake tin or square cake tin (better for brownies, I need to buy one!).


Bake for 30 - 40 minutes on the middle shelf. Your brownies are done when a skewer or knife comes out clean when inserted. Remove from the pan and leave on a board or wire rack.
Let them cool completely (sneak a crispy corner if you can't wait!) before cutting into squares.
Store in the fridge, bring back to room temperature to eat.

I had mine with a nice strong coffee, this motivated me for the rest of the afternoon!

Serve to friends (not vegetarians though!!) and don't tell them what is inside, let them guess - I bet they won't know!

Cooking - Extremely Chocolatey Fudge Brownies

I love brownies. Who doesn't love brownies? Do you know someone that doesn't? If you do make them these and I assure you they'll love them.

These are proper fudgey dense chocolatey brownies, no messing about here.I like making brownies because my terrible oven can cook them properly, mainly because you don't need to cook brownies all the way through. I have trauma cooking cakes but brownies are a breeze.

I based them on this recipe on Joy the Baker, I swapped the walnuts for whole roasted hazelnuts (pop them on a baking tray in a medium hot oven for 10 minutes) because I think hazelnuts belong better in brownies. These may be the most chocolatey brownies I have made and it definitely helps that they are broken up by a few roasted hazelnuts.

1 2/3 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup cocoa (yes it is a lot!) - I use Green and Blacks

3/4 cup unsalted butter

2 tablespoons of water

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/3 cup plain flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup roasted hazelnuts

handful of chocolate chips or chopped chocolate to top

Preheat your oven to gas mark 4 / 350f / 175f

Add your cocoa powder and butter to a glass bowl and melt together over a pan of simmering water, stir frequently to combine. Add 2 tablespoons of water in when it is melted.


Whilst it melts cream together your eggs and sugar til light and fluffy. Add in your vanilla extract. Then slowly add in the chocolate/butter mixture til combined.

Then fold in your flour, baking powder and salt. Mix in your hazelnuts. Save a few for the top.

Add into a greased and lined tin, I used a 9 inch round cake tin, a square one would be better.
Sprinkle your reserved hazelnuts and chocolate chips on top.

Bake for 18-25 minutes. I go for the longer option because I like an extra chewy crispy top, this is the best bit!
Once it is baked leave to cool for a few minutes and as soon as you can turn out on to a plate, then cut into pieces.

I was going to Easter-fy them by topping them with mini eggs but the chocolate content was really quite enough by this point, and there wasn't much room for mini eggs.

These are best kept in the fridge and then brought back to room temperature for eating (if you can wait). They go a little too gooey and sticky if kept at room temperature all the time.

These are lovely warmed up a bit too and served with a dollop of ice cream or creme fraiche.