5 Ingredient Chocolate Brownie Recipe (No Baking Required)
This is my new favourite thing to make. Aside from the fact that it tastes amazing, it is also super simple to assemble.
Now I love a cooked brownie, when the edges are crispy and the middle is molten, but there’s a bit of an art to it. Knowing your oven well and being super accurate with timings is the only way to catch the brownie in that tiny window between still-raw-and-gloopy-and-dissintegrates-upon-touch and overcooked-and-crunchy-and-dry-all-the-way-through. There’s also a lot more mess generated, and washing-up, with cooked brownies, and you need more time. Luckily, his cousin, the raw brownie, means none of this to worry about!
With this brownie, there’s no cooking. Hurrah! You can’t over- or under-cook it, and you don’t have to wait ages for it to be ready. Also, you only need 4 ingredients (plus salt). How awesome is that?! The other great thing is you can make this in small batches rather than having to make a tray full. If you’re greedy like me and can eat 24 brownies in 24 hours, this is a great way to exercise some restraint – just make less!
I also imagine that these would keep much longer than normal brownies which dry out over time, but I’ve not been able to resist eating them long enough to find out. They will definitely keep for a week in the fridge or freezer in an airtight container, and I can’t see any reason why they wouldn’t last longer if you have more willpower than me.
This recipe makes enough for 6 pieces. You will need a food processor or high powered blender.
Ingredients
100g walnuts (approx 1 cup)
60g macadamias (a very full half cup)
10 medjool dates, stones removed
1/2 cup cacao powder
1/4 teaspoon salt (recommended but optional)
Method
Grind the walnuts and salt into a flour. Add the cacao and mix well. Blend the dates in a few at a time until the mixture has formed small crumbs.
Roughly chop the macadamias by hand. Stir into the mix.
Line a container with baking paper. Tip the mix into the container and press down firmly. Place in the freezer before cutting into pieces (it will cut into pieces better if it is cold).
Store in the fridge or freezer.
You can eat straight from the freezer, or allow to warm to room temperature. I dust extra cacao powder on the top to serve but this is optional.
Yum!
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These look delicious. I am definitely going to try them out soon. Thanks for sharing.
They are delicious! You must try them out! : )
woo hoo they look fab! I’m rubbish at baking so these are perfect :) I need a new blender though! Mine has a hole in it so I have to wrap paper towel around it when I use it haha!
They are super easy : ) You may want to get a new blender though! Sounds hazardous! If you do replace yours, you’ll need a good motor to grind the walnuts. Check out the second hand listings – you’ll be able to find a decent one waaay cheaper than in the shops : )
These are similar to DIY Lara Bars (I hear Americans rave about Lara Bars, and so I’ve never tired them to compare…) My recipe is mainly dates + nuts (usually almonds…), pluc cocoa and some cacao nibs (seeing I have them!) Too rich for me to scoff them as quickly as my (easy and almost always perfect) cooked brownies.
I have never heard of Lara bars, but I will look them up immediately! [elevator music plays whilst I dash off to look them up – thanks for holding] Hmm, I like the idea (but not the packaging)! The flavours all sound interesting – I will have to incorporate some of these combination ideas into my next baking adventures : )
Do you need to soak the nuts first?
I used activated walnuts because they are better for digestion but they were dried. I didn’t soak them because I wanted a crumbly texture and I think wet nuts might make it sloppy. Then again, I have a pretty powerful blender…if your blender motor is not so good, it might help to soak them.
I hope that helps?!
They look great – but what are medjool dates??? As a german speaking Reader of your blog, I am helples. And even the dictionary wasn’t helpful…
Dates = Datteln in German. Medjool is a certain variety of dates. Any kind of dates will work in the recipe, though.
Medjool dates are dates (datteln), yes, but the best kind! They are big and fat and juicy, and you sometimes find them refrigerated in grocery stores rather than in the dry section – these ones are the best! They are also fairly expensive. I would recommend using Medjool dates if you have them as they have the best taste, and with a recipe with so few ingredients I think it would make a difference. Normally I use cheap dates, but I use Medjool for these brownies. Still, if you can’t find them, you won’t know any different!!
why the baking paper? if you are into reducing waste this is one product that can be dispensed with. i never use it. alternative? sometimes a dusting of flour or cornflour, sometimes a smear of oil or butter.
Hi Fiona, thanks for your comment : ) Bear in mind I wrote this post back in 2013 when I was more focused on plastic-free living rather than zero waste in general! For this recipe, not using baking paper means the brownie gets stuck to the bottom – it is easier to pull out the paper and then cut. Of course it’s not essential but it’s still something I use. I wipe once it’s used and try to get as many uses as I can before disposing of it. I’m also not convinced of the safety of teflon-coated dishes and would rather my food touched paper rather than plastic coatings!
We all have different boundaries for our zero-waste journeys, and for now baking paper is something I’m sticking with! : )