Death by Chocolate Brownies

Chocolate lovers' heaven - calorie counters' hell! These are sooooo good, but very, very evil! Go on, try 'em - I KNOW you can't resist them! Recipe is from the Australian 'Country Style' magazine.

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 24

Ingredients

• 200  g  plain  milk chocolate or 200  g baking chocolate
• 200  g walnuts or 200  g pecans or 200  g  almonds or 200  g hazelnuts
• 1⁄2 cup  rice flour
• 1⁄3 cup  cocoa (NOT drinking chocolate)
• 1 3⁄4 cups sugar
• 250  g butter, melted and cooled
• 1  teaspoon vanilla extract or 1  teaspoon vanilla essence
• 3  eggs, lightly beaten

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180C (350F).
2. Grease and line a 20cm x 30cm (8" x 12") shallow sided baking tin- (lamington tin).
3. Chop chocolate into small pieces, about the size of the fingernail on your little finger and set aside until needed.
4. In a food processor grind nuts to a fine consistency.
5. Tip nuts into a large mixing bowl.
6. Add rice flour, sifted cocoa and sugar and mix well.
7. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add melted butter, vanilla and eggs.
8. Stir well to combine.
9. Stir in chocolate pieces.
10. Spoon mixture into the prepared baking tin and smooth the surface with the back of the spoon.
11. Bake on the centre shelf of the oven for 40 minutes at 180C (350F).
12. Remove from oven, cool in tin, and cut into squares or rectangles to serve.
13. Store in airtight tins, lining base and between layers with kitchen paper.