Maple-Roasted Nut Butter Brownies (Recipe)

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A brownie combination never sounded so good! If you're going to treat yourself to a nice little chocolate treat, it needs to be this one!

WHAT YOU NEED

  • 250g/8oz (approx. 2 cups) mixed nuts, roughly chopped*
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 tsp coarse sea salt
  • 4 tsp ground flax + 3 tbsp Water
  • 1 1/2 cup (155g) Sieved Almond meal*
  • 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp (85g) sieved oat flour
  • 1/2 cup (60g) cocoa powder
  • 2 tbsp arrowroot or tapioca flour
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 75 g/2.5oz dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids) + approx. 25g/1oz for topping
  • 6 tbsp (80g) coconut oil
  • 1 cup (150g) coconut sugar, ground*
  • 1/4 cup (60ml) almond milk
  • 1/2 tbsp instant coffee (optional)
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract

What to do

  1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F, spread the chopped nuts on a parchment-lined baking tray and bake for 3-5 minutes. Drizzle over the maple syrup, sprinkle with sea salt and stir. Bake for 3-5 minutes longer. Cool.
  2. Lightly oil a 9x9" brownie pan and line with two sheets of parchment paper, going in opposite directions, for easy removal.
  3. Whisk together ground flax and water and set aside to thicken.
  4. In a large bowl, sieve together the almond meal, oat flour, cocoa, arrowroot, baking soda and salt.
  5. Melt chocolate in a glass bowl over boiling water, along with the coconut oil. When melted, whisk in ground coconut sugar, almond milk, instant coffee (if using), vanilla and flax mixture.
  6. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir well.
  7. Fold in 75 g/2.5 oz (approx 1/3) of the roasted nuts and spoon batter into the prepared pan. Spread evenly with a spatula and smooth over the top.
  8. Reduce heat to 180C/ 350F and bake brownies for 25-30 minutes. Leave to cool completely (at least 1 hr) before topping.
  9. While cooling, add the remaining nuts to a food processor or high-powered blender and blend until you have a very smooth nut butter. Leave the motor running for a while as it can take a bit of time.
  10. Spread nut butter over brownies (you may not need all of it) and chill for 10 minutes.
  11. Place remaining chocolate in a freezer bag and put in a bowl of boiling water for 10 minutes to melt. Remove from water and set aside for 5 minutes to thicken slightly, snip a tiny corner off the bag and drizzle chocolate generously over brownies. Leave to set completely before slicing into squares.

NOTES
* You can use any nuts here but I like the flavor of the mix I used, which included brazil nuts, almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts and pecans.
* I grind my own flours using a high-powered blender which has a jug especially designed to be able to grind grains and nuts, but stored-bought works just as well.
*I prefer to use ground coconut sugar for a better brownie texture. You can also substitute cane sugar.