100g dark chocolate
70g milk chocolate
125g butter
125g marzipan
125g spekulatius or pepernoten
220g sugar
1 tbsp vanilla sugar
2 eggs
85g flour
2 tsp Anne’s Sweet spice or cinnamon
1⁄4 tsp salt
To glaze:
icing sugar
milk
festive sprinkles
Makes 40 little brownie trees in a 24 x 18 cm tin – Prep: 20 min – Oven: 35 min
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan.
Roughly chop the dark and milk chocolate and put in a saucepan with the butter. Melt in a bain marie.
Cut the marzipan into little chunks. Crush the spekulatius or peppernoten.
Put the sugar, vanilla sugar and eggs into a bowl. Whisk until pale, then add the melted chocolate, while still whisking.
Fold through the flour, spices and the salt, then add the chopped marzipan and crushed cookies and combine.
Line the bottom of a brownie tin measuring approximately 24 x 18 cm with baking paper.
Pour the batter into the tin and even out with a spatula.
Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes.
Leave the brownie to cool completely in its tin before unmolding.
Once cold, cut the hard edges off the brownie sides. Cut the brownie into 4 long strips, then cut each into 10 little triangles.
Mix the icing by combining some icing sugar and a tiny bit of milk in a little bowl. Transfer into a piping bag and pipe strips of icing over each tree, then sprinkle some festive sprinkles over. Leave to set for a couple of hours.
Once set, stick a stick into each Xmas bownie (I used cake pop sticks) and serve.