Disclaimer: the picture is rubbish, I know. I am going to endeavour to use my grown up camera this year rather than my phone.

I’m not going to pretend like these are healthy, because sometimes you don’t want healthy. Sometimes the kale and the almond milk chat and the steaming rather than frying can give you healthy fatigue. If that’s the case then I prescribe something so trashy, so incredibly grubby that it sends you straight back on the wagon. This is that very thing. You’re welcome.

NB: They need to be eaten within 7 days of baking OR you can freeze them and then defrost at room temperature. Why not pop down to the corner shop, buy some Mars Bars, bake a batch, cut into little pieces and then open freeze, before storing in a freezer bag until you’re ready to decide which day is trashy day?

I made a lovely video with the Scoff folks to show off how to make these brownies. You can see the vid on my YouTube channel. You can watch it below too.

Lots of great recipes like this in my book, Recipes from a Normal Mum, out now… on Amazon, at Waterstones, WHSmith, The Book Depository and many smaller outlets.

Last December: My slow cooker beef bourguignon pie and Crumble topped mince pies and a very ugly but delicious cranberry & raspberry traybake

Two years ago: Mini Yorkshire pudding canapes and Christmas pudding fizz and Brandy butter icing and Rudolf morsels

Three years ago: Lime meringue pie with chocolate pastry and Christmas scones and Ginger cake with Christmas cottage and Hot chocolate on a stick

Four years ago: Moonuts and Cheese biscuits and Parsnip soup and Inauthentic chicken tagine

Mars bar brownies

Makes 9 large brownies or 16 smaller ones – cut them as small as you wish

Ingredients:

• 325g dark chocolate
• 125g butter
• 150g castor sugar
• 90g soft brown sugar
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 100g plain flour
• 4 x 51g Mars Bars

Grease and line a 20cm x 30cm tray and preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Melt the chocolate and butter in a large saucepan, stirring regularly to ensure the chocolate doesn’t burn. Remove from the heat when molten and add the sugars, eggs and flour. Stir well. Pour half into the tray and then slice the Mars Bars into 6 pieces and layer over the brownie mixture. Pour the rest of the batter over the top, ensuring the Mars Bar pieces are covered.

Bake for 25 – 30 minutes until the brownie has stopped wobbling and is starting to look a little cracked at the edges. Cool on a wire rack and refrigerate for an hour before cutting with a knife dipped in warm water. You can clean the knife after each cut to get perfect little squares.

NB: You can make this less floury and substitute the flour for ground almonds if you wish.

NB II: I have noticed that when using very expensive 70% cocoa solids dark chocolate these brownies get a kind of funny space crater like look on the top. To avoid this then use a chocolate with a lower cocoa solids content – something more like 40%. I am a big fan of Lidl’s cheap dark chocolate for baking. It seems to melt and bake very well indeed.