These thick and chewy chocolate brownies are stuffed with mince pies and make the most amazing festive treat. A twist on a classic brownie, these beauties are easy to make and addictive!
What is better than a rich, homemade chocolate brownie?
A rich, homemade chocolate brownie with crushed mince pies in of course!!
It’s amazing how one little twist can totally transform a dessert from delicious to insanely delicious! You can use shop bought or homemade mince pies, I used shop bought because it means you can get these made and ready to eat in an hour.
I also added a little mixed spice to the brownie mixture to bring out the flavours of the mince pies – it’s not overpowering at all, just a hint of spice along with the intense chocolate flavour and gooey texture. Pure bliss in every bite!
I have so many ideas for Christmas recipes this year and I’m so excited to share them with you all – I have a twist on mince pies coming next week and the most amazing crumble. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I go through phases of feeling stuck and like I’ve lost my creativity.
I guess you can’t force it, so when I do feel creative, I try and plan as many recipes as possible and get them written down in a list for those times when nothing is forthcoming!
I sometimes struggle because in theory it should be “easy” to come up with ideas, there’s inspiration everywhere… but I don’t want to always just do popular things, I like doing twists on classics and coming up with things that I haven’t seen a thousand times over.
Of course I have a place for the classic recipes and when I started this blog I wanted it to be a comprehensive site, so you can get your plain vanilla cupcakes, brownies, chocolate cake etc. but on top of that I like to get creative and come up with new and exciting recipes.
I used to sit and try and force the recipes to pop into my head, but it feels like so much pressure and I end up coming up with rubbish recipes, so recently I’ve been making a habit of letting it flow more freely. I have notes on my phone with lists of random things that pop into my head.
If it happens at midnight, I write it down, I may not ever make it because the next time I look at it I could be like “ewww that doesn’t sound nice” but some of my best recipes have come from me not overthinking things.
The reason I mention this is because the other night my husband and I were talking and he is not creative in the slightest. We were talking about how we see things, for example, I can look at a house or a floor plan and instantly see what it could be.
He looks at a photo of a room and sees it as it is. It’s weird to me as a creative person, but I’m weird to him as someone who doesn’t have the vision! It’s fascinating to me how different we all are and I guess us together means we have all bases covered! I can be the one with the ideas and he can be the practical one making it work or telling me it can’t be done!
Mince Pie Brownies
These thick and chewy chocolate brownies are stuffed with mince pies and make the most amazing festive treat. A twist on a classic brownie, these beauties are easy to make and addictive!
Ingredients
- 4 mince pies, crushed. Homemade or store bought
- 1 stick (113g) unsalted butter
- 3.5 oz (100g) dark chocolate
- 1/2 cup (100g) white/caster sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (70g) plain/all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup (25g) cocoa powder, sifted
- 1/4 tsp ground mixed spice
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and spray an 8x8 inch square pan with cooking spray. Lay a strip of grease proof paper across the pan one way, with overhang at each end to help you lift the brownies out.
Place the butter and dark chocolate into a heat proof bowl and microwave in 20 second increments, stirring in between, until the chocolate and butter are all melted together. Leave to one side.
Place the sugars, eggs and vanilla extract into a large bowl and whisk until combined and slightly frothy.
Pour the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and whisk briefly to combine.
Add in the flour, cocoa powder, mixed spice and baking powder and whisk until everything comes together and there are no lumps of four.
Tip in the crushed mince pies and fold in gently with a spoon.
Pour the brownie mixture into your prepared pan and spread into an even layer. Place in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until the top looks matte in the oven light and an inserted skewer into the centre comes out with a few crumbs on, not liquid mixture. A skewer into the edges should come out clean.
Leave the brownies to cool completely in the pan before transferring to a chopping board and slicing into 9-12 squares.
Mince Pie Brownies will keep in an airtight container, at room temperature, for 5 days.
These are such mouthwatering brownies! Great photos looks like a very delectable dessert treat!
I love love love this! What an incredible way to make brownies festive!
Now this is a very creative iteration of brownies. I admit to never having had mince… this might be a good “gateway” recipe for me!
This is such a creative recipe! My neighbor used to bring me minced pie every Christmas. She was born in the UK. I used to look forward to it every year! I am totally going to try these brownies!