Dark Chocolate & Black Walnut Brownies | The Beast is an Animal

         I had the opportunity to meet author Peternelle van Arsdale at the NOVA Teen Book Fest earlier this year, and when I asked her what her debut, young adult novel The Beast is an Animal would be if it was a food, she said dark chocolate... and also black walnuts! We brainstormed for a hot second and came up with the idea of rich, dark chocolate brownies with black walnuts mixed in. Boy-o, these things are truly dark and dangerous. :)

Note: This recipe is part of my #IfBlankWasAFood series which you can check out on Instagram! I began asking authors this question a couple of years ago and kept getting so inspired. I decided to start doing photo shoots pairing the books with their food counterparts earlier this year, and have made many of the foods myself. :) Sometimes you'll find recipes for such foods here, or on Instagram. :) ((Past recipes on the blog have been plum cake, peat cake, icey cream, and candied plums.))

Dark Chocolate & Black Walnut Brownies

---

Ingredients:
3/4 Cup Flour
1/4 Cup Dark Cocoa (I used Hershey's Special Dark)
1 Box (3.56 oz.) Dark Chocolate Instant Pudding (I used Hershey's Special Dark again!)
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Salt
1 Cup (2 sticks) Butter
1 Cup Sugar
1 Tbsp. Vanilla Flavoring
4 Eggs, room temperature
1 Cup + 1/2 Cup Black Walnuts, chopped
1/2 Cup Dark Chocolate Chips

Directions:
Grease an 8"x11" pan & pre-heat your oven to 350ºF. In a large mixing bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa, pudding mix, baking powder, & salt.

Dice one stick of butter & put it in a large glass measuring cup. Pour the sugar in & then dice the second stick of butter & put it on top. Put the glass in the microwave for 1 minute & then stir. Heat for another minute & stir again. Heat for an additional 30 seconds & stir. Pour the melted butter/sugar mixture into the bowl of the dry ingredients & stir well.

In a separate bowl whisk the eggs well & then stir in 1/4 of the egg mixture at a time into the mixing bowl until combined. Fold in 1 cup of the walnuts plus the chocolate chips. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan & spread evenly. Top with the rest of the nuts. Bake for about 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven & let cool for a couple of minutes. Run a butter knife around the edges of the pan to separate the sides of the brownies from the pan. Let cool a little bit longer & then cut & serve. Great with vanilla ice cream!