Spiced Chocolate Brownies

Brownies – simple, no fuss no muss pieces of chocolatey goodness ready to pop into your mouth in a single bite or several bites;my definition of this popular classic. Here I have adapted one of Ina Garten’s recipe for outrageous chocolate brownies. When I first saw her make it on the show Barefoot Contessa on Food Network, I was drooling and was waiting for an opportunity to make these brownies. I tweaked it a bit to suit my taste and played around with the different types of chocolate. I also added in a bit of chili powder to give it a kick…. If you haven’t tried it yet, chili and chocolate together tastes insanely good. 

The recipe below feeds a whole lot of people, so halve the recipe if you need or better still make the whole batch and freeze what you don’t need right away.

You will need:

Adapted from Ina Garten’s Outrageous Brownies:

4 sticks unsalted butter

1 lb semisweet chocolate chips

6 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped

4 oz Bitter sweet chocolate chips

6 extra- large eggs

3 tbsp Coffee granules

½ tsp Chilli powder

2 tbsp Vanilla extract

2 ¼ cups Sugar

1 ¼ cups All-purpose flour

1 tbsp Baking powder

1 tsp Salt

2 ½ cups chopped Walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter and flour a 12x18x1-inch baking sheet.

Melt together the butter, pound of chocolate chips, unsweetened chocolate and the bitter sweet chocolate using a double-boiler or a heat proof bowl set over a pot of simmering water where the water doesn’t touch the bowl directly. Allow to cool slightly.

In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) the eggs, coffee granules, vanilla, chili powder and sugar until combined. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and combine well. Let cool to room temperature.

In another bowl, sift together 1 cup of flour, baking powder and salt, then add to the cooled chocolate. Toss the walnuts with remaining ½ cup of flour. Add this to the chocolate mix and combine well. Pour into the greased pan and bake for 20 minutes. Tap the sheet on your baking rack to release the air between the brownie dough and pan. Continue baking for 15 more minutes. Do not over bake and check by inserting a toothpick in the center. If it comes out clean then the brownie is done all the way.

Allow to cool completely and refrigerate for a few hours before cutting into pieces. If you try to cut into it before it cools, the brownie will crumble due to the hot butter. Patience is certainly well worth it here. :)

Once chilled, cut into cubes, bites, chunks…anything that makes it easier to sink your teeth into!