Christmas reindeer brownies

INGREDIENTS  

• 275 g (1 1/3 cup) butter, softened
• 375 g (1 1/3 cup) caster sugar
• 4 eggs
• 75 g (½ cup) cocoa powder
• 100 g (¾ cup) self raising powder
• 100 g (2/3 cup) chocolate chips

To decorate

• 30 icing eyes
• 15 red smarties
• 30 small pretzels

INSTRUCTIONS 

• Preheat your oven to 180C / 160C Fan / 375F and grease and line a 30×23 cm baking tin.

Measure out the brownie ingredients

• Measure out all the ingredients in turn and add them to a large mixing bowl or freestanding mixer.

Mix everything together

• Use either a hand mixer, wooden spoons, or the k paddle of your freestanding mixer to mix everything together.

Bake the Christmas brownies

• Spoon/pour the brownie mixture into the prepared baking tin. Use a spatula to spread the mixture gently into the corners and level the top.
• Bake the brownies in the oven for 40-45 minutes. If it starts to brown too much on top, cover it with foil for the last 10-15 minutes.
• The Christmas brownies are ready when they have a nice crust on top and if you stick a skewer in the middle it should come out relatively clean. If you like brownies that are still a bit gooey it’s ok for there to be a little mixture on the skewer.

Decorate the Christmas reindeer brownies

• Once the brownies have cooled remove them from the tin and cut into squares – around 15-20 pieces depending on how big you want each piece to be.
• Take a small pretzel and push it into the corner of the brownie slice. Repeat this for the other ear.
• To stick the Smartie nose and eyes on, either use a little bit of icing from an icing writer if you have them or a few squares of melted chocolate.