Brownies are awesome.  What cake can lack in moisture and flavor, brownies are capable of knocking your socks off and are much easier to throw together when you need a treat.

My ideal brownie is fudgy, dense, super chocolaty, and begs for a cold glass of milk.

In an attempt to stick with my goal to invent my own recipes, I set out to make some perfectly fudgy brownies.  But plain old brownies are old news!  I wanted to put my own twist on them.

Spicy brownies it is!  The addition of a little smokey adobo sauce, chili powder, cayenne, and cinnamon accentuates the chocolate’s bitter flavors and is a nice surprise to the palate.

Enjoy!  And make sure to have a glass of milk nearby to duel the spice!

Smokey n’ Spicy Brownies

Makes about 40 small brownie squares

Note:  Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce can be found in the Latin foods section of most grocery stores.  Only the adobo sauce is used in this recipe, but you can refrigerate the peppers for future use.  They are great in many Mexican dishes.

These are fairly rich brownies, so I recommend cutting small squares.  A few bites is really all you need.

2 sticks unsalted butter

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

7 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons adobo sauce from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

5 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with foil and spray with nonstick spray.

In a small saucepan over low heat, combine butter, cocoa powder, and chocolate and stir until completely melted and smooth.  Pour chocolate mixture into a large bowl and set aside to cool for about 5 minutes.

Whisk both sugars into chocolate until they have almost completely dissolved.  One-by-one whisk in eggs until mixture is smooth and shiny.  Stir in adobo sauce and vanilla.

In a small bowl, combine flour, salt, chili powder, cayenne, and cinnamon.  Pour flour mixture onto chocolate and stir until just combined.  Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs.

Cool completely and cut into small squares.