December is such a special month. From the day 1 until the very last minute of it. Filled with long awaited gatherings, good food, fairy lights and Christmas songs. Even if you are more of a Grinch type, there must be something, at least one thing, that you like about December.

It’s almost like we need December to be so colourful and filled with joy to survive the winter. After chilly October and rainy November we start  running low on, not as much energy, as enthusiasm. And then boom! There you go! Streets fill themselves up with Christmas lights and decorations, so we don’t mind days being so short anymore- at least we can admire sparkling illuminations in their full glory. Temperature? Yes, it gets colder than usual but this is just the perfect excuse to fashion some woolly, cosy knits at work instead of not so comfy shirts and dresses. And if you are a huge fan, you can actually get away with wearing Christmas jumper not only on its special day. Apart from that, let’s be honest, you can have pizza three nights in a row and no-one will notice anything from under all these layers.

Speaking of December treats, that’s the only time of year we are officially allowed to start our day with chocolate. Whether it’s a miniature of Rudolph hiding behind a little window in your Christmas calendar or hot chocolate served by your local cafe as a part of winter menu. You can do whatever makes you feel good and festive.

On the note of celebration and festive mood I would like to highlight the fact that we have just reached half way of Christmas Challenge! You’d agree that we deserve something special and truly chocolatey on that occasion.

I am going to toast to day 12 of Christmas Bake-off with… Brownie! Fudgy on inside, slightly crisp on the outside, filled with chocolate and decorated with even some more… Let’s not waste more time on talking, grab yourself a piece and enjoy! 

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Original Recipe Brownie 

Ingredients:
butter- 1 cup
white sugar- 1 cup (I replaced it with brown)
brown sugar- 1 cup (I added only 1/2, 1 1/2 in total)
eggs- 4 units
vanilla extract- 1 tsp
all purpose flower- 1 cup
unsweetened cocoa- 1 cup
salt- 1 tsp
chocolate shreds- 1 cup (add as much as you want, can be less, can be more- we are celebrating, right?)

Directions: 
1. Melt butter and transfer to the large bowl, add all ingredients one by one, as per above list. Whisk vigorously to incorporate every ingredient at the time, mix until the batter is smooth. 
2. Transfer to prepared baking tin and bake for about 25 minutes in 175C. 
3. Once ready, cool it down, slice and enjoy every single bite of that chocolatey heaven! 🙂

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