Festive chocolate brownie dessert Haggis from Simon Howie makes key return

Scottish business Simon Howie has brought back its renowned chocolate brownie-based dessert Haggis as a centrepiece for two significant national celebrations in the form of Hogmanay, and Burns Night, thanks to a key sector collaboration, writes Neill Barston.

The established butcher’s firm has gained some notoriety for venturing outside of its regular remit into the confectionery world – and has forged a link with with fellow Scots firms Walker’s Shortbread and Mrs Tilly’s, for an improved dessert recipe featuring chunks of all-butter shortbread and fudge, creating an indulgent and unique dessert that’s sold as a haggis.

Hogmanay, is celebrated in Scotland on December 31, celebrating the end of the year – and the meat version of Haggis has traditionally featured in mix of festivities, but the chocolate brownie version has reportedly proved a hit with customers. 

Similarly Burns Night, celebrating the birth of poet Robert Burns, is marked on 25 January, so there are high hopes the choc Haggis will prove equally enticing for those major celebrations. 

As Simon Howie explained, the series was originally launched in  2024 as a limited-edition pudding for Burns Night. While the brand was keen to bring it back for January 2025, it noted that a legal dispute with Cadbury’s over the products previous purple packaging had placed a barrier on the distinctive product’s re-appearance.

Company founder Simon Howie said: “For our wee limited edition Chocolate Haggis to worry the biggest players in chocolate, shows the success of the 2023 launch. While we were disappointed not to be able to bring it back straight away, we used the time we needed to change the packaging to also improve the recipe by adding in chunks of shortbread and fudge from our friends at Walker’s and Mrs Tilly’s.”

“The Scottish food and drink community is known for its collaboration, and this is a perfect example of three like-minded family-owned manufacturers teaming up to create a unique and innovative product. We’re grateful to Walker’s and Mrs Tilly’s for their support and look forward to hearing the reaction from our customers.”

Welcoming the collaboration, Richard Walker of Walker’s Shortbread, felt the venture offered a strong sense of promoting different regional food specialities.

He said: “Chocolate Haggis is such a unique and fun celebration of Scotland and we’re delighted to be part of the new recipe development. We are sure it will be enjoyed by many as the perfect pudding for Burns Night.”

Meanwhile Lauren Paterson of Mrs Tilly’s added the the company was excited to have its Scottish fudge added to Simon Howie’s Chocolate Haggis dessert and that celebrations in the region for Burns night and  Hogmanay would be all the richer for its development. 

The indulgent Haggis-shaped chocolate brownie dessert recommends removing all the packaging and microwaving the pudding for about three mins before serving with ice cream or cream. The pudding can also be cooked as a regular haggis would, and the casing cut open to serve.

Simon Howie is the UK’s number one haggis brand and sells more than 1.3m haggis during January in the run up to Burns Night. The brand’s previous work on Chocolate Haggis recently won Campiagn of the Year at the 2025 Scotland Food and Drink Awards.