Easter Egg Brownies

I know, I know, more brownies. I probably should make something else at some point, but when something tastes good, I can't help it. And these taste amazing.

I know I make a lot of brownies and always talk about how great they are, but these are just as good as any of the others I've raved about. These brownies are absolutely fantastic; they are the usual soft and fudgy brownies I make, but not quite as rich. To make up for that, they are filled with crispy M&M Easter eggs which slightly melt into the brownie batter as it bakes, leaving a somewhat crispy and milk chocolate after taste.

It is important to use, if possible, some type of medium sized crispy Easter eggs, as they work well with these brownies. They have a very soft flavour, but the flavour of the M&M Easter eggs adds to it. I would try to grab a packet of the eggs I mention below if you can.

These are based on my usual brownies, so if you have tried them, you know these will work well. And, again, I've added these brownies to Buns in My Oven What's Cookin' Wednesday linkup. Check it out if you're looking for some amazing ideas.

Level of difficulty: As easy as all brownies.

Menu Options: I recommend what type of Easter eggs to use below, but I shall say it here - M&M Speckled eggs or some other kind of crispy M&M eggs if they are not available. You could add more chocolate to the recipe (provided you melt it in the first step of instructions) but otherwise, if you like giant, fudgy brownies, keep the recipe simple.

Makes 16+ brownies, depending on the size you cut them

What you need:

-          100g dark chocolate – 75% cocoa at least

-          ¾ cup butter

-          ½ cup brown sugar

-          1 cup sugar

-          3 eggs

-          1 tsp vanilla

-          1 cup flour

-          1 tsp salt

-          1 cup M&M Easter eggs – I recommend buying the M&M crispy speckled eggs which are essentially M&M’s with a bit more chocolate or some other kind of M&M Easter eggs with a hard shell – they are what give the brownies the slight crunch

 Picture from my instagram

What to do:

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Grease a brownie pan and line it with parchment paper. I always advise this because it so easy to remove the brownies from the pan.

Break up the chocolate and place in a large, microwave proof bowl with the butter. Microwave the butter and chocolate in 30 second increments until the butter and chocolate have melted together.

In the same bowl, provided it is large enough, add the sugars. Whisk until the mixture is well combined.

Add the eggs and vanilla at once and whisk until well combined.

Sift the flour and salt into the mixture and using a wooden spoon, stir the mixture together. Be careful here not to overmix the brownie batter. You want to mix until the last of the flour strands are fading because you will mix the mixture again in a minute.

Stir the chocolate bits into the mixture. This won’t require a lot of stirring – make sure the chocolate bits are evenly spread throughout the mixture and there are no flour streaks.

Pour the batter, which should be heavy and thick, into a brownie pan. Place in the oven and cook for 20 – 25 minutes. Keep an eye on the brownies after 20 minutes because you don’t want the edge of the brownies to burn. The mixture may seem slightly undercooked when you first take it out of the oven, but once it has cooled the brownies remain fudgy yet firm.

Allow the brownies to cool for 10 minutes before slicing.