Mexican chocolate can refer to several types of chocolate, including a hot chocolate drink, but all of these chocolates have one thing in common: they’re spicy. Mexican chocolate, in just about every form, is flavored with a variety of spices. Cinnamon is always present and some variations use ground chilis to add some heat to the mix. I like these spicy chocolates (especially when served as a thick hot chocolate) and like to spice up my chocolate recipes from time to time using Mexican chocolate as inspiration.
These Mexican Chocolate Brownies are definitely on the spicy side. The fudgy, slightly chewy brownies are made with dark chocolate and get an extra deep flavor from the addition of some cocoa powder. They’re flavored with cinnamon, cayenne pepper and chili powder, as well as vanilla extract. The cinnamon, cayenne and chili all come together to give the brownies a nice balance of spice and heat that really compliments the chocolate.
I also like to mix in some chocolate chips or chunks of chopped chocolate with this recipe, as the plainer chocolate helps to balance out the spices. The brownies are really complex, but not overwhelmingly hot or spicy. They taste better the day after they’re made, as the spices have time to meld together in that time. If stored for a few days (in an airtight container), the cayenne will actually become stronger and your brownies will be a bit spicier.
These are delicious as-is and I would only recommend cutting back on the cayenne if you are very sensitive to spicy foods, as a smaller amount will not be that noticeable against all that chocolate. If they get a little too spicy, warm them up and serve them with a side of cooling vanilla ice cream.
Brownies are usually baked in square or rectangular baking pans, which leaves them in an easy-to-slice – if somewhat boring – shape. You can put your brownie batter into pans of different shapes and sizes, but brownies are a very sensitive type of baked good where the size and depth of the pan really matter if you want your brownies to turn out to be moist and fudgy. Nordic Ware’s Bundt Brownie Pan is designed with this in mind. The cast-aluminum pan has a dozen shallow, bundt-shaped cavities that will give a batch of mini brownies an attractive look and enough depth to bake to a fudgy consistency. They’re slightly larger than mini muffin cavities (another popular choice for mini brownies), so you will generally get a moister brownie when you’re done. The pan is nonstick, but I definitely recommend lightly greasing and flouring (or using cocoa powder, if you’re baking brownies) this type of pan because you can’t fit a muffin liner inside and you definitely don’t want your brownies to stick.
This pan isn’t just for baking brownies, of course. Like a mini muffin pan, you can use it for many applications, including cakes and muffins. Because of the details on the pan, this works best with plain batters that don’t have mix-ins like chocolate chips or berries, which could cause you to lose a lot of definition when you pop your cakes out. There is a cake shop in my area that sells these bite-sized bundts instead of cupcakes, puts a dab of frosting on top and calls them Bundtinis!
Mint and chocolate is a winning combination, but mint can be a tricky ingredient to work with. This is because it has such a strong flavor that it can easily overwhelm the other elements in a recipe. One solution is to cut back slightly on the mint and to pair it with other strong flavors – like dark chocolate or cocoa – so that you get a balanced result where you can taste both the mint and the other elements of your recipe. These Mint Chocolate Brownie Cookies with Walnuts are just the thing if you want a hint of mint in with your chocolate.
The way I get that hint-of-mint flavor into these cookies is that I add chopped up mint chocolate, meaning chocolate bars that are flavored with mint. Good examples of this are Andes Mints (which are also sold as baking chips), the Lindt Excellence Intense Mint Bar (yum!), and Ghirardelli MMint Bliss, as well as other chocolates that are flavored with mint. Using these chocolate bars ensures that I get even more chocolate flavor into the cookies and just the right amount of mint, without overwhelming the rest of a recipe. It’s easy to go overboard with peppermint extracts can do if you’re not careful, but using just a 1/4 teaspoon and dark chocolate chips will make a good substitute if you can’t find a mint chocolate bar to chip up and add to your cookies.
The cookies are fudgy and brownie-like (and can be even more brownie-like if you underbake them by a minute), with a tender center and a slight chew to them. They get most of their richness from unsweetened cocoa powder, which gives them an intense, dark chocolate flavor that makes them feel very indulgent. The hint of mint in the cookies lightens up that chocolate taste a little bit, and the additions of walnuts add just enough texture and crunch. These cookies have been a hit every time I’ve served them: just a bit different from your usual chocolate cookie but with a satisfying chocolate punch. +Continue Reading
Pumpkin brownies are one of my favorite fall treats to bake because I am a huge pumpkin pie fan and like just about any dessert that gets those delicious pumpkin spice flavors into it. I first make Pumpkin Brownies with Pecans a couple of years ago, and I’ve been making them ever since. Unlike regular brownies, these don’t have any chocolate in them. What they do have a chewy, fudgy texture that is a lot like that of brownies or blondies, and a great pumpkin flavor. The brownies use canned pumpkin (or homemade pumpkin puree) to provide a moist, dense base for the bars, and are seasoned with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Chopped pecans add some texture and crunch to the bars, and contrast well with the pumpkin. They’re faster and easier to make than pumpkin pie – not to mention that they’re more portable and easy to share – so they’re a great snack to whip up on a fall day.
The bars are easy to make, but since it’s an unusual recipe, I’ve put together a step-by-step video (that I hope will be one of the first of many to come) showing the process of how to make Pumpkin Brownies from start to finish. Don’t forget to check out the full recipe from the original post so that you can try baking a batch yourself, too!
Cheesecake swirled brownies are one of my favorite types of brownies. That isn’t to say that a fudgy, rich chocolaty brownie can’t stand on its own – but there is something special about it when it is topped off with a layer of creamy cheesecake. Cream cheese adds a slightly tangy note to the dessert that makes the brownies seem even darker and more chocolatey than before. Typically, I use a plain vanilla cheesecake topping for cheesecake brownies, but I’ve made a few flavor variations in the past. This one is for chocolate lovers.
Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies are fudgy brownies topped off with a layer of chocolate cheesecake. They don’t have the same visual impact as the classic black and white cheesecake brownies do, but they make up for that in flavor. The cheesecake is not too sweet, but has a good chocolate flavor to it that contrasts well with the deeper flavor of the brownies. If you want even more chocolate, add some chocolate chips to the cheesecake mixture before layering it on to the brownies.
You can either spread the cheesecake in a layer on top of the brownie batter when making these because the brownie batter is fairly thick and this is not difficult to do. I prefer to dollop the cheesecake mixture onto the brownies and give everything a quick swirl with a knife. It gives the brownies a more attractive look and gives you a little more variety, with some pieces having slightly more brownie and others having slightly more cheesecake.
