Cinnamon Cayenne Fudge Brownies

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Spicy, sweet, and satisfying. 
Gluten, grain, refined sugar, and dairy free! 

This recipe is inspired by the tastiest cafe latte I've ever had, a "Mexican mocha," which included sugar, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper. I wanted to learn a little bit more about this drink... and was curious to see if it was truly a drink that derived from Mexican tradition, or just a catchy name to call something. 


It turns out, Mexican chocolate caliente is typically made with cinnamon, cocoa, and sugar. Then, there's "Mexican chocolate," which is a paste made of cacao nibs, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and nutmeg. Where's the spicy cayenne pepper that was in my Mexican mocha? The answer to that lies with the Mayans and Aztecs, who drank dark cacao mixed with chiles, flowers, and seeds. This ritualistic, pre-colonial drink was not sweetened. Eventually, cinnamon from the Far East was introduced to Mexico, which brings us to this particular combination of flavors -- and what a combination at that. 


These brownies are based off of Sweet Laurel Bakery's brownies, with a few tweaks. I chose to use sunbutter (sunflower seed butter) instead of almond butter, because I find the flavor really complements chocolate. Plus, it's SO much cheaper than almond butter and it's even easier to make. I buy bulk bags of raw, unsalted seeds from Nuts.com (or just get it from a bulk bin at the grocery store when it's not Corona time). Toast them in the oven at 200F for one hour (or at 350F for 15-20 minutes, until golden and fragrant). Then pour them directly into a food processor and process into sunbutter. Voila! FYI - if you bake with sunbutter, it turns a vibrant green-blue color. The cacao powder in this brownie recipe hides it, but don't be alarmed if you ever see a blue-green hue!



I recommend topping the warm skillet brownie with some ice cream. I also added marshmallows, because they're go so well in hot chocolate. You could call these Mexican hot chocolate brownies if you wanted to, so the marshmallows are a great addition (but not necessary). The best marshmallows to add to a recipe are homemade ones. I was going to try to adapt Ina Garten's marshmallow recipe into a "healthier" version, but Sweet Laurel Bakery beat me to it! So, if you're up for a project and want to eliminate some plastic waste from your baking, those are the ones to add! 

Ingredients: 
  • 2 cups sunbutter
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup
  • 1/2 cup coconut sugar 
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup cacao powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 - 1 cup chocolate chips 
  • marshmallows 
Method
  1. Preheat oven to 350F and oil a 10-inch cast iron skillet (or line 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper).
  2. Mix sunbutter, maple syrup, coconut sugar, oil, vanilla, and eggs together in a bowl. 
  3. In another bowl, mix the cacao, baking powder, cinnamon, cayenne, and salt. 
  4. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
  5. Mix the chocolate chips into the batter, reserving some for the top. 
  6. Add to skillet/ baking pan and sprinkle a few chocolate chips on top with some marshmallows. 
  7. Bake for 20-30 minutes - check on it by sticking a knife in the center. Only a few little bits of goo should stick to it. 

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