These naughty Chocolate Hazelnut Brownies are crispy on the outside and fudgy in the middle with loads of hazelnuts and chocolate chunks.

A homemade gift from the heart

You can never have enough of a good thing right? this is my motto when I am cooking for a special occasion such as Christmas. So, for these Chocolate Hazelnut Brownies, I went the extra mile and made it ultra indulgent.

This naughty but ‘oh so delicious’ brownies have a crispy outer layer with a fudgy moist centre that’s filled with loads of chocolate chunks and hazelnuts.

I am so proud of these brownies that I’ve gifted them a few times to different groups of people. It’s a great gift idea if you have to gift to a large group of people, such as; work colleagues, your children’s classmates or even extended relatives.

For me, homemade edible gifts are the best because it’s always so delicious as it’s coming from the heart. It also tastes great because the person who made it loved it and is confident you’ll most probably feel the same way too.

I don’t like boasting about having the ‘best’ recipes but I have to admit that these brownies come close to the best ones I’ve ever had. My husband Tomasi concurs as he always raves on how good these are and that they even taste better than the ones sold at preppy patisseries.

So if you do plan to make a batch to give away as a gift be warned! You may want to make two batches as you’ll end up eating half of the ones you intended to give away!

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The secret to perfect Chocolate Hazelnut Brownies

In order to get these brownies perfect, I, of course, had to endure a few fails. But I dunno if I should call them fails as each batch was still eaten enthusiastically by our household.

The first problem I encountered was the hazelnuts, the first batch didn’t have a roasted hazelnut taste. So I toasted the nuts and grounded them using a food processor but doing this made the texture of the brownies grainy. However, toasting the nuts did release all the gorgeous hazelnut flavours I was seeking.

After a few more trials I found that roasting and cutting the nuts roughly delivered the best results in terms of taste and texture.

So getting the hazelnuts perfect it was time to balance the sweetness. My first batch was slightly too sweet as it already had melted chocolate and chocolate chunks in there so I lessen the sugar.

Cooking the brownies is probably the hardest part as, unlike muffins or cake I can’t rely on the skewer to tell me how I want my brownies cooked. I know some people claim that they can, but it doesn’t work for me. Each time I tried my skewer just came out looking dirty, so I kept cooking it to the point of drying it out.

So with trial and error, I discovered the best time and temperature to cook the brownies in. My goal was accomplished when I made fudgy brownies with lots of roasted hazelnuts and chunks of chocolate covered in a crispy outer layer.

Ingredients for Chocolate hazelnut brownies

Blanched hazelnuts – Blanched (skinless) nuts are plunged in boiling water for a short time to help remove the skins on the nuts. You can substitute hazelnuts for your favourite nut or mixed nuts but make sure to remove the skins first and roast the nuts before baking.

Chocolate – I used dark cooking (baking) chocolate to melt with the butter. Cooking chocolate has generally less sugar and more cocoa butter than eating chocolate.

The additional chocolate will be used as chunks to distribute into the batter with the hazelnut. For this, you can use white, milk or dark eating/cooking chocolate. On this occasion, I used cooking milk chocolate.

How to make Chocolate hazelnut brownies

STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE WITH PHOTOS

Melt the butter and chocolate

Preheat oven to 180°C (356°F) or 160°C (320°F) for fan-forced ovens.  Line a 20cm x 20cm (8in x 8in) square tin with non-stick baking paper allowing sides to overhang so the brownie can be easily be lifted from the tin once cooked.

You will need a metal spoon and a microwave-safe jug/ bowl to melt the chocolate and butter. Make sure there is no water on the spoon or in the jug because a small amount of moisture may seize the chocolate.

Place the chopped butter and chocolate in the jug and zap it in the microwave for 40 seconds intervals. At each interval stir the mixture with the metal spoon and repeat heating it in the microwave until the chocolate has completely melted. Leave the chocolate mixture to the side to cool.

Roast the hazelnuts

Heat up a frying pan on medium heat for 30 seconds, add in the hazelnuts and stir regularly for a few minutes. The hazelnuts are done when they smell roasted. Leave the nuts to cool off slightly then chop them up roughly in half.

Mix the dry ingredients

In a large bowl add in the sugar, salt and sift in the flour and cocoa powder. Whisk well to combine.

Add the eggs into the chocolate mixture

In a small bowl whisk the eggs until combined. Add the eggs into the melted chocolate and butter mixture and whisk to combine.

Mix the batter

Pour the chocolate mixture on to the dry ingredients and gently fold a few times only. Add in the chopped chocolate and hazelnuts and continue to fold just until combined and no flour is visible. Do not overmix the batter.

Cook the brownies

Pour the batter into the prepared tin and carefully tilt the tin to spread the batter out evenly. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

Allow the brownie to rest in the tin for 10 minutes. Using the overlapping baking paper to lift brownie from the tin and transfer it on top of a cooling rack. Leave for 20 to 25 minutes before carefully cutting the brownies into slices.

To enjoy the brownies with a crispy outer layer and fudgy middle eat brownies warm after slicing them. The brownies will still be fudgy and delicious if stored in the fridge but will lose the crispiness.

Storage – The brownies can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. It can be frozen for up to 3 months.

Gifting – Let the brownies set hard in the fridge overnight. Cut into slices and gift them in paper bags/wrapping or clear wrapping. Let them know that if they don’t plan to eat it immediately to store their brownie in the fridge.

For other Christmas food ideas make sure to check out my Prawn Halloumi Watermelon Salad and GINGER BANANA BREAD

Cooking measurements are in Australian standard spoon and cup measurements.

A Third-Party Application calculated the calories and nutritional information. Please use this as an approximate guide only.

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Cheers (I’ll drink to that) – Cat Tre