The last five or so Fridays, since gaining some more free time, I’ve been doing something new. I’ve been heading out to a coffee shop first thing in the morning, along with my boyfriend who has off on Fridays, and composing my blog posts right there, reading, revising a bit, and then hitting the old “post” button. One step posting. Well, almost, if you don’t include the cooking and photographing, which happen at home. All of my previous posts were done in multiple steps: edit the photos, come back a while later and do some writing, maybe revise later and add in the photos. Eventually I’d have everything where I want and save it for posting at a later time of my choosing. I was working full time and it was tough to find a chunk of time that allowed me to get everything done.

So today I made my way to the coffee shop and had something unusual happen. I sat down to write this post and found myself at a bit of a loss for words. Okay, that doesn’t sound like a winning endorsement. The brownies are delicious! Fudgy, nutty, sweet, decadent…definitely on my list of all time favorites. But don’t you guys like to hear stories about my childhood, eating habits, random streams of consciousness and/or the funny things that happened while I was preparing the dish before you? I’m kind of kidding, but I realize I can be a bit of a blabbermouth in print form.

I had to ask my boyfriend for help. He had a lot to say about the brownies. To paraphrase:

These brownies are nutty, but not nutty like Jack Nicholson in The Shining, or even One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. More like David Helfgott, the concert pianist who is just nutty enough to be fun and a joy to experience when he’s right there in front of you. These brownies are dark and sensorial, but not like a David Lynch movie…more like a good episode of the X-Files (or substitute you favorite dark and sensorial TV show or film). Or an autumn evening, complete with a sunset and hot cup of tea, which would also be an excellent complement to these brownies. Like a Jackson Pollack painting. A dazzling array of, you know, whatever you like…

So there you have it. I take that rant as a run on compliment.

Did you make my chocolate hazelnut butter earlier this week? Or maybe you’re looking to put to use a jar of commercial chocolate hazelnut butter? (Justin’s is a good brand that is vegan.) Go make these brownies now.

Print Chocolate Hazelnut Butter Brownies Prep Time 10 minutes Cook Time 30 minutes Total Time 40 minutes Servings 16 Author Alissa Ingredients 2 tbsp. ground flax seeds + 1/4 cup almond or other non dairy milk, whisked and allowed to sit for 10 minutes

1/2 cup Earth Balance or other vegan margarine softened

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 cup almond or other non-dairy milk (this is in addition to the milk that you mix with flax seeds)

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/8 tsp. salt

1/2 cup chocolate hazelnut butter use my recipe or a commercial brand, like Justin's

1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts Instructions Preheat oven to 350 and spray or grease a 9x9 baking pan. Mix first five ingredients (up to sugar) in mixing bowl. Add all other ingredients except for hazelnut butter and hazelnuts. Spread batter evenly in baking pan. Next, using a knife, toothpick, chopstick, or whatever works, swirl hazelnut butter into brownie batter. I tried to get all fancy with it, this isn't really necessary as the color blends right in with the batter. Top with hazelnuts and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool before cutting into squares.

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