Recipes Macao

Chocolate brownies

15 min 13 min 10 people Easy

Ingredients

  • 250 g unsalted butter
  • 200 g good-quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids) , broken up
  • 75 g dried sour cherries , optional
  • 50 g chopped nuts , optional
  • 80 g cocoa powder , sifted
  • 65 g plain flour , sifted
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 360 g caster sugar
  • 4 large free-range eggs
  • zest of 1 orange , optional
  • 250 ml crème fraîche , optional
1 Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Line a 24cm square baking tin with greaseproof paper. In a large bowl over some simmering water, melt the butter and the chocolate and mix until smooth. Add the cherries and nuts, if you’re using them, and stir together.
2 In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and sugar, then add this to the chocolate, cherry and nut mixture. Stir together well. Beat the eggs and mix in until you have a silky consistency.
3 Pour your brownie mix into the baking tray, and place in the oven for around 25 minutes. You don’t want to overcook them so, unlike cakes, you don’t want a skewer to come out all clean. The brownies should be slightly springy on the outside but still gooey in the middle.
4 Allow to cool in the tray, then carefully transfer to a large chopping board and cut into chunky squares. These make a fantastic dessert served with a dollop of crème fraîche mixed with some orange zest.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

10 min 8 min 12 people Easy

Ingredients

  • 3 cups margarine, softened
  • 2 1/2 cups white sugar
  • 2 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 4 eggs
  • 8 cups all-purpose flour
  • 4 teaspoons baking soda
  • 4 cups macao chocolate chips
  • 1 teaspoon salt
1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2 In a large bowl, cream together margarine, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to egg mixture, and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. Instead of just dropping them onto the cookie sheet, I roll the cookies into balls - it makes them all look very uniform and nice!
3 Bake in preheated oven for 12 to15 minutes, or until light brown. Cool on a wire rack.