Sweeten the deal

Come 4.30pm on a Sunday afternoon, I usually feel the onset of Monday-itis. The sun starts to set, the temperature drops, and I realise that I haven't washed my work clothes yet. Damn.

I imagine the reason that late Sunday is filled with the dread of impending Monday is that the days have struck a deal, whereby Monday takes over early from Sunday. It goes something like this, in my stress-scrambled brain... Sunday feels like she has had a damned long day - first looking out for the drunken revellers who partied on past Saturday's handover and then nursing the cursed souls through the worst of their collective hangover. Monday kind of fancies Sunday and, knowing that the early part of his shift will be quiet as the bulk of the population turns in early in preparation for the working week, offers to take over early in exchange for a date on a mutual day off.

Sunday and Monday come out of this deal warm and fuzzy, but us mere (Monday to Friday, 9 to 5) mortals don't fare so well. Which is why I propose to sweeten the deal with these here chocolate and walnut brownies. Pop a square of this in your bag for work and Monday won't seem so bad.

You will need...
150g butter
200g dark chocolate*
3 eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup plain flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
100g milk chocolate, roughly chopped*

*real chocolate, not the cooking substitute. In Australia, the 'You'll love Coles' brand is surprisingly tasty and good value.

The how-to...
1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees, and line a square tin with baking paper (this way, you can just lift the entire slab of brownie out once it is cooked).
2. Melt the butter and dark chocolate in a saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly. Set the mixture aside to cool a little.
3. Sift the flour and cocoa into a mixing bowl. Tip in the sugar. Beat the eggs, one at a time, in a separate bowl and add them to the flour mixture. Pour in the cooled chocolate mixture and mix everything until combined. Add the chopped walnuts and milk chocolate and stir through.
4. Scrape the mixture into the baking paper lined tin and smooth the surface with the back of a spoon. Pop it into the oven for about 30 - 35 minutes, or until set. Let it cool in the tin for about 10 minutes - this will give it time to firm up.

5. Cut it up - this recipe makes 16 neat squares - and put it onto a pretty plate. If your feeling friendly, leave it out someplace where your flatmates can find it.

You could make this with any other kind of nut - macadamias and hazelnuts go quite nicely with chocolate - or try adding a couple of shakes of chilli powder, or a splash of your favourite liqueur.