Almond Pistachio Choco Chip Brownies--Kid's Special

My baby is now close to 2.5 years old and as she is growing up, feeding her the right nutrients is becoming a bigger challenge. There was a time when she would eat whatever food and vegetables I would give her without any fuss and today is a time when even her favorite food keeps changing every week! These growing years are the most important for any child and forms the foundation for a healthy being later in life. As such, I do not mind doing a bit of brainstorming and tweaking a few recipes and making the best use of my baking skills. Almonds and pistachios are known for their fibre and vitamin content and are considered healthier nuts with lesser calories. While calories would be the last thing on my mind while feeding my baby, I know I would be sneaking in a few bites while feeding her and so that applies to me. So here is a simple brownie recipe made with Almond and Pistachio meal and to make it a little more tasty for those puddly hands, I added a few choco chips as well. The result was superbly moist and soft brownies which were happily gobbled up by my baby with both hands. An effort well paid off!

Ingredients

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/4 cup almond pistachio meal (soak the almonds in warm water for half an hour and then remove the skin. Dab the almonds on kitchen towel to remove excess water or sun dry them for 10-15 minutes. The quantity of almonds and pistachios depends on your liking. I took 50-50 proportion. Grind the dried almonds and pistachios to a fine paste/powder and store in air tight container in the refrigerator)

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup fine sugar (I used brown sugar)

1 tsp vanilla essence

2 eggs

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Choco chips as per your liking

Direction

Sift the flour, cocoa, salt, and baking powder and keep aside. In a bowl, beat the butter and sugar until creamy . Add the eggs and vanilla essence and beat further. Now fold in the flour mixture little at a time until smooth. Next goes the Almond Pistachio meal and mix well. This might form small lumps. Take care to form a smooth batter. Lastly, tip in the choco chips and give a gentle mix. 

Pre-heat the oven/microwave at 175 degree celsius/high for 10 minutes (5 minutes for microwave convection) and grease and flour a square cake tin. Pour the brownie batter (which is a little thicker than the usual cake batter) into the prepared pan and spread it out evenly with the help of a spatula and tapping the sides and bottom. Now bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and the sides start coming off the edges. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Store in airtight containers and serve warm.