Oh HELLO. Right here gang, we have perhaps the most decadent recipe to hit my blog. I thought that spot was reserved for my Black Velvet Beetroot Brownies, but these definitely take the biscuit. Pun intended! If you live in Ireland or the U.K., you’ll know that at the time of my writing this and creating this recipe, we are in the middle of the snowstorm caused by the ‘Beast From The East’ and ‘Storm Emma.’ It has been and is still mental – total city shutdown, stores and public transport gone for the past 48 hours, and ensuing cabin fever for many. If you know me you’ll know I am TERRIBLE at being bored – and happily, I was overdue some recipe creation time, plus my brother’s 18th birthday landed right in the middle of the snowstorm – so what better opportunity to get baking! Storm or no storm, celebrations were had, and I was delighted to see these chocolate biscuit squares go down such a treat in the family! They are pretty frickin’ decadent gang, and they’re super easy to make, while still looking and tasting the dream – so whether you’re cooking for family or friends, they’ll love you for these! Recipe time!

Recipe (Makes 16 squares)

Ingredients

• 150g of solid quality chocolate (I use dark chocolate 70% or above, or another fave of mine is Dr. Coy’s!), chopped into small pieces
• 150g of Butter (we use Dairygold in my house – I can’t deal with butter unless it’s nut butter, but it’s my family’s longstanding favourite!)
• 25g Raw Chopped Nuts (I used two crumbled Kind Snacks bars as I received a gorgeous delivery from these guys recently!) Almonds and hazelnuts are ideal.
• 2 large tbsp of date syrup (or sub maple/golden syrup) – I use Meridian Foods!
• 200g of biscuits of choice, crushed (Good options include Digestives for a classic take, but feel free to play around with it – you could use oat biscuits for a healthier vibe, or ginger, or chocolate digestives to be truly decadent!) – crushing the biscuits can be done with your hands in  bowl, or using a big rolling pin with the biscuits in a small plastic bag (my preferred method!)
• Optional: For a fruity twist, feel free to add some dried fruit like blueberries or cranberries!

Method

1. Fill a medium pot 2/3 of the way full with water, and set it to heat until simmering.
2. Add your chocolate and butter to a plastic bowl, and balance it on top of the simmering water.
3. Melt the butter and chocolate together by stirring every so often until it is totally liquid consistency/
4. Remove the bowl from the pot, taking care with the heat, and pat the bottom dry with a towel. Place onto your countertop.
5. Add the date syrup, and mix everything again.
6. Add the crushed biscuits to the bowl, and stir into the liquid until coated.
7. Finally, add the chopped nuts, and give everything a big stir again until all dry ingredients are chocolate-coated. Try not to lick the bowl!
8. Taking a baking tin or deep square shape dish, and line it with greaseproof/parchment paper.
9. Pour the mixture into the dish, and spread it out evenly using the back of a spoon.
10. Time to let your creation set! Place in the fridge for 2 hours, or alternatively you could freeze it for 45 – 60 minutes!
11. Once done, slice it up, and try not to eat the whole tray at once!

Enjoy guys! I hope you love this recipe as much as my family did – these squares didn’t last more than a day or two, trust me! Tag me if you try them out – @theirishbalance on Instagram/Twitter/Facebook!

Ciara 🙂 x