We love cooking with chocolate. Every time I make a batch of brownies, I wonder why I don’t make them more often. Then after eating quarter of the batch in less than 30 minutes I remember why I don’t! I have no self control when it comes to baked goods containing chocolate.
It seems I have also passed this on to Atticus as I had to snatch the bowl from him after he had licked it clean after making them and practically frog march him to the sink to wash his hands and face. I did not want any of the mixture on my walls or furnishings!
These brownies were a really tasty experiment and are my latest creation with the rosemary from the garden. We paired the rosemary with olive oil and some ground coriander to balance the flavours. The olive oil makes 
me think they are healthier than they really are and alleviates some of the guilt that I can assure you came about after eating as many as I did! I also did a spin class the following morning to balance the binge! Using olive oil in this recipe also means that if you use dairy free chocolate these brownies would be dairy free.
They sort of reminded me of the spiced chocolate Christmas cake (hence the name) I made last year, but without the fruit and the rum. I was in two minds whether I should post this now or wait until nearer Christmas. Then I decided that I would make them anytime so why not?! They are definitely on my list to make again before the winter. I must add I cut them into 12 large brownies. You could easily cut them smaller, but I am always worried I will eat loads more without noticing if they are small whereas at least I realise what I am doing when I eat more than one of these!
Ingredients
- 80ml olive oil (we used extra virgin)
- 185g dark chocolate
- 85g plain flour
- 40g cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 100g dark chocolate chips
- 3 large eggs
- 275g golden caster sugar
- 3 sprigs of washed and dried fresh rosemary (You should have around 3tbsp of rosemary once it is off the stalks)
Method
Preheat the oven to 160°c and grease and line a brownie tin.- Melt the chocolate and the oil in a glass in a double boiler (on the stove in a heat proof bowl over a pan with a small amount simmering of water in it which doesn’t touch the bowl). and put to one
side to cool. - Put the sugar and the rosemary (not the stalks) into a food processor and blitz until the rosemary is smaller and distributed throughout the sugar. (You can do this step in advance to allow the rosemary flavour to infuse more).
Whisk the egg and rosemary infused sugar with an electric hand whisk until thick and creamy. Think about a bubbly milkshake and then you will have the right consistency. It will end up double the size.- Gently fold in the cooled melted chocolate mixture with a metal spoon.
- Sift in the flour, cocoa powder and ground coriander and fold again. You will probably need to hold the sieve
above the bowl rather than resting it on it as the whisked eggs will have increased in size and you don’t want the sieve touching them. - Add in the chocolate chips and fold.
- Pour the mixture into the brownie tin and spread out. Level it with a spatula and cook for 25 minutes. If the brownie is still wobbly in the centre, return it to the oven for another 5 minutes.
- Remove the brownies from the oven and leave to cool completely in the tin before removing them and slicing.
