Spicy Brownies

Cyndy over at The Student Home Cook posted a recipe that makes pretty much the best brownies. Chocolatey, gooey and dense. (Note I made them with regular flour, but her gluten-free version was also great!).

I say pretty much the best, because depending on what you are in the mood for, you might want to change it up a little. After we made batch #1 using the basic recipe, JF wondered what would happen if we replaced the cocoa powder with our chili and spice hot chocolate mix from Camino (lotsa love for Fairtrade and organic!). Well that particular hot chocolate mix comes with sugar already mixed in, so rather than add more sugar to the brownie recipe, I decided to just add some of the spices that were in the mix to the brownies myself. The result is a deliciously piquante brownie we love:

Rachelle's Spicy Brownies

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup cocoa
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
2 pinches nutmeg (careful, it's easy to over do this!)


Melt the butter in a saucepan, then remove from heat and add the sugar, eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Add the cocoa, flour, salt, baking powder and spices and mix until just combined. Pour into greased pan and bake at 350˚C for 25-30 minutes, until the top is crusty and a toothpick comes out with just a few morsels on it. 

Share and enjoy!