Mexican Chili Brownies

So I love brownies and I love love love spicy foods. I have been experimenting with adding savory items to sweet desserts, so I thought now would be the time to start adding some spicy to my sweet treats. I made these brownies the same day I made the guacamole for my co-worker's party last month, but of course I've been slacking on posting this stuff!

I decided to see if I could find a Mexican brownie I liked, but couldn't, so I started browsing for a new brownie recipe (I know, I had the other brownie recipe I've been making a lot, but I wanted to try something new). So I found this recipe on King Arthur Flour and it looked good, so I figured why not?

So I altered the recipe a tad bit... Here is my adaptation of the recipe!

Mexican Spicy Brownies

2 sticks unsalted butter
1 Lindt Excellence Chili Bar
2 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cups cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

Directions

1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan

2) In a saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter and chocolate bar, then add the sugar and stir to combine. Return the mixture to the heat briefly, just until it's hot (about 110°F to 120°F), but not bubbling; it'll become shiny looking as you stir it. Heating this mixture a second time will dissolve more of the sugar, which will yield a shiny top crust on your brownies.

3) While the sugar heats a second time, crack the 4 eggs into a bowl, and beat them with the cocoa, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, chili powder and vanilla till smooth.

4) Add the hot butter/sugar mixture, stirring until smooth.

5) Add the flour again stirring until smooth.

6) Spoon the batter into a lightly greased 9" x 13" pan.

7) Bake the brownies for about 30 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it. The brownies should feel set on the edges, and the center should look very moist, but not uncooked. Remove them from the oven and cool on a rack before cutting and serving.

These brownies were moist w/ an awesome top crust. The spice from the cayenne and cinnamon add a nice flavor to the brownie w/out adding an intense heat. The spice kinda tingles the back of your throat as you swallow. It's not spicy hot, just a wee bit tingly.

Also, I made these the following week, but w/ unsweetened baking chocolate and no pepper or cinnamon and then baked them for 20 mins in a mini muffin pan to make brownie bites. The recipe yielded aprx 48 brownie bites. They were just as good; just like the brownie bites you can get at the store in a container. Nice and crusty on the outside and soft, rich and chocolaty on the inside. I think I do like these better in bar form though. I like the fudgy chocolaty texture more so than the extra crunchy outside. But they are good both ways, for sure!