Brownies are a surefire way to win over your colleagues, impress your Valentine or say ‘thanks’ to your mum. Here are a few recipes that have served me well over time!

Lumpy Caramel “Impress Your Boss” Brownies

These are an incredible adaptation of an old classic from Taste.com that is well worth perusing (http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/23181/chocolate+caramel+brownie+hearts).

These little mouthfuls of chocolate mud, with surprise packages of caramel are a surefire way to impress even the fussiest critics.

Ingredients (makes 24ish…)

• 150g butter or margarine
• 180g dark or milk chocolate*, chopped
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup plain flour
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 220g block Caramello chocolate, separated into squares and frozen OR 3 tubes of Rolo chocolate, frozen

*These are very rich when made with dark chocolate!

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Grease a 18cm x 28cm rectangular slice pan. Line base and sides with baking paper, allowing a 2cm overhang a long ends.
2. Place butter/margarine and chocolate in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring for 3 to 5 minutes or until smooth. Remove from heat. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool. (Note: this is very important – if the mixture is still hot when you add the eggs, the whites will cook and your mixture will be ruined!)
3. Whisk eggs into chocolate mixture until combined. Add sugar, flour and cocoa. Whisk to combine. Fold in frozen bits of caramello chocolate. Spread mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until top is firm to touch. Set aside to cool before serving.

4 Ingredient Brownies

These brownies only have 4 ingredients and are a Valentine’s Day favourite of mine!

Ingredients (makes 4) 

• 200g dark chocolate
• 1 can of top n fill caramel
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup self raising flour

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200*C.
2. Melt the chocolate and let cool.
3. Add the caramel, flour and eggs to the chocolate and stir until well combined. Pour into mini cake tins and bake for 15 minutes.