Mexican Brownies

In the spirit of Cinco de Mayo, and yesterday’s Dulce de Leche Oatmeal Bars post, I was inspired to whip up a batch of Mexican brownies. If you’ve had a Mexican mocha or a Mexican hot chocolate, this is that, but in brownie form. Amazing right?

And for those who are unfamiliar, Mexican brownies (or hot chocolates, mochas, anything with chocolate, etc.) are your traditional brownies, but with added spice. And these are real hot-spicy, spices!

When I think of hot-spicy, I think of cayenne, chili peppers, make-you-sweat spices.

When I think of warm-spicy, I think of cinnamon, ginger, make-you-cozy spices.

These brownies are not like Spicy Ginger Molasses Bars  because it uses an entire teaspoon of cayenne, creating a hot spicy dessert rather than a warm spicy dessert. And oh boy, it is deeeeeeelicious. Believe me because I’m very delicate when it comes to any hot-spicy foods or drinks. I grew up having to use special fruit flavored tooth pastes because the mint tooth paste was “too spicy” for me.

If you’re sensitive to hot-spice, then you can certainly reduce the cayenne in these. I wouldn’t reduce the cinnamon though. In all honesty, I cannot eat these brownies UNLESS they’re served with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. They’re just too hot for me otherwise. I enjoyed multiple though with vanilla ice cream and it was heavenly. And I used the entire 1 tsp. of cayenne. So if you are a little hesitant about the level of spice, reduce to 1/2 tsp. or even 1/4 tsp. of the cayenne or omit all together and just use the cinnamon for a warm-spicy brownie rather than a hot-spicy brownie.

If you’re in a pinch this weekend for cinco de mayo and can’t imagine baking anything from scratch, then you can always buy your favorite box mix and then incorporate the spices (1 tbsp. cinnamon and 1 tsp. cayenne) into the dry ingredients.

The last thing that makes these brownies so special is that they have chocolate chips in them that don’t melt entirely. I LOVE that. I may even consider adding 3/4 cup of chocolate chips next time just because i enjoyed the added texture so much. Oh, speaking of texture, feel free to add chopped nuts or anything else you typically incorporate into your favorite brownies.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

P.s. Go order a Mexican mocha or hot chocolate at your local coffee shop if you haven’t before. I’m curious, if you aren’t a California reader, if you have access or have seen that on your coffee shop menus before? Let me know! 🙂