Mexican Cocoa Brownies

Hello all! I apologize for not having posted in awhile, I was on vacation for a weekend in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico!

And in honor of my Mexico vacation, I give you Mexican cocoa brownies!



I didn't get the cocoa in Mexico though. I actually made these before I even left, I wanted to bake something easy and sweet, but special, so I used my Mexican cocoa from Savory Spice Shop! Mexican cocoa and chocolate is special because it's cocoa combined with almonds and cinnamon, very tasty. But if you can't find it in stores, I've found you a substitute! *Measure out the 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder, and add 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon.

The recipe makes two 8 x 8 pans, or one 9 x 13 pan I'm sure, but since it's just Dave and I in the house I halved it and made one 8 x 8, and added some cinnamon extract for fun.

Mexican Cocoa Brownies
adapted from Savory Spice Shop

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/3 cup light corn syrup
3 eggs
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon Mexican cocoa (or see substitution above*)
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon extract (optional)

1. Line and butter a 8 x 8 inch square brownie pan and preheat oven to 350 degrees.
   
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter
3. Beast in sugars, oil and syrup until blended.
   
4. Stir in eggs one at a time until blended.
   
5. Stir in cocoa, flour and extract until blended.
   
6. Spread evenly into the prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.
7. Allow to cool in pan before cutting into bars!

Mexican Cocoa Ice Cream for Cinco de Mayo

I discovered a wonderful new shop, the Savory Spice Shop in Westfield, NJ. It's so much fun. The first time I went there I was overwhelmed and I walked out with only a few things, but I recently went back and bought a whole bunch of fun stuff!

Among my spoils was a bag of Mexican cocoa which I made Mexican cocoa ice cream in honor of Cinco de Mayo with!



I'm still learning how to make ice cream well. I have issues with my custard separating and that seems to make it freeze hard as a rock after processing. But this time I went very slow and I think it came out pretty good!



Mexican Cocoa Ice Cream
From Savory Spice Shop

Yields 1 quart
Note: If you don't have an ice cream maker you can use this method for processing!

3 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
3 tbsp. Mexican cocoa
1/4 tsp. cinnamon extract
1/4 tsp. peppermint extract
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

1. In a small bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar together.
   
2. In a saucepan over medium heat, slowly heat milk to boiling point, stirring occasionally.
3. Slowly pour egg mixture into milk and thoroughly mix together.
   
4. Turn heat to low and stir constantly until the mixture thickens and forms a thick film on the back of a wooden spoon. (Do not let it boil or the mixture will separate)
5. Remove pan from heat and let cool to room temperature.
   
6. When cool, transfer mixture to a bowl. Add cocoa and mix in thoroughly.
   
7. Mix in extracts and cream.
   
8. Refrigerate until cold, 1-2 hours.
   
9. Process the ice cream in an ice cream maker for about 25 min, or make sure you have a lot of time and use this method

Happy Cinco de Mayo!