I’ve been making a lot of Nigella’s Emergency Brownies. Not because I’m a brownie fiend, really, but once I make something, my brain then decides it wants to tweak it and experiment. So I did. The basic recipe is on Nigella’s website, and is excellent. It doesn’t need tweaking, it’s utterly delicious and stands all on its own.
But because I’m me, I wondered what would happen if I used olive oil.
It made a delicious batch of brownies, that’s what.

The completely perfect original is this:

50g butter
50g light brown sugar
1 tbs maple syrup
¼ tsp salt
3 tbs cocoa
3 tbs plain flour
1 large egg
50g chocolate chips
50g walnut pieces

I decided to double it, and so off I went.

Batch 1
80g olive oil
100g light brown soft sugar
2 tbs maple syrup
¾ tsp sea salt flakes
6 tbs cocoa
6 tbs plain flour
1 large egg*
1 tsp espresso powder
50g chocolate chips
6 pecan nut halves
(*To make it vegan, just replace the egg with 3 tbs of aquafaba)

Warm the olive oil and add the sugar. Mix well until the sugar dissolves.
Mix in the maple syrup, coffee powder and sea salt, stirring well.
Add in the cocoa powder and flour, and give it all a really good mix, then when it’s cooled a bit, whisk in the egg so it is a pourable batter.
Stir in the chocolate chips.
Line a loaf pan, or use a takeaway foil container.
Spoon the mixture in, level the top, and pop your pecans on.
Sprinkle a bit of light brown sugar for crunch.
Bake for 15-17 minutes at 150C fan. They should be fudgy in the middle.

I loved them. Tex wasn’t keen, but then he doesn’t share my coffee/chocolate/salt cravings. I ate one, Tex ate one, and the last 4 went to the window cleaner.

Batch 2
Tex wanted less oil, and also more chocolate rather than just cocoa, and we both love chocolate and cherry so…

70g olive oil
100g light brown soft sugar
2 tbs maple syrup
¼ tsp sea salt
6 tbs cocoa + six squares of dark chocolate
6 tbs plain flour
1 large egg
½ tsp speculoos spice or mixed spice
50g chocolate chips
Glacé cherries and light brown sugar to decorate
Tex approved! These disappeared quite fast…I think I’ll be making this version again.

Batch 3 (see? Once I start…)

I had some teeny tiny gingerbread people cookies, and I got all excited and autumnul about them.

80g olive oil
100g light brown soft sugar
1 tbs black treacle syrup
¼ tsp sea salt flakes
6 tbs cocoa
6 tbs spelt flour
1 large egg
1 tsp ground ginger
3 pieces of candied ginger finely chopped and mixed in
50g chocolate chips mixed in to the batter
6 tiny ginger cookies to decorate
Tex verdict: Hmm, a bit spicy.
Lisa verdict: Rich, and nicely full of ginger.

Batch 4

Yes. Four. I know. But these had to be done. “What about non cocoa recipe?” said my brain. So Blondies happened. If you like custard, oh then you need to make these. More ginger tinies on the top here, as I had no mini custard creams. 🙂

50g olive oil
100g golden caster sugar
2 tbs golden syrup
¼ tsp sea salt
6 tbs plain flour
6 tbs custard powder
50g white chocolate chips melted in with the batter
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
White chocolate chips and gingerbread tinies to decorate.