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
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.
Annie is a self-taught baker, recipe developer and food photographer, who has an obsession with dessert and beauty! 
