Firecracker Brownies

My brother graduated early from high school and to celebrate I decided to make him firecracker brownies. The recipe is largely inspired from Chuao Chocolatier who makes a bar named “Spicy Maya” which is essentially the yummiest dark chocolate you’ve ever had coupled with cayenne pepper. To make it even more confusing, Chuao actually makes a bar named “Firecracker” but it’s more of a milk chocolate with pop rocks embedded in it- it’s quite an eating experience, but I prefer complex flavor over bizarre tactile-tongue sensation.

My brother is essentially my taste preference twin. We both slather our burritos in hot sauce, drown pizza in tapatio, spruce up soups with chili garlic sauce, and love the ridiculous in just about everything both food-tastic and beyond. Plus, I’ve made these brownies for him before and he likes them, so I felt fairly comfortable and confident about making brownies with a bang.

I got the stamp of approval from Profe also, because of the following three things:

1. The name
• Firecrackers, fireworks and gunpowder were invented in China approximately 2,000 years ago. And, because of the Professor’s not-so-distant heritage, we find a modicum of spice to be quite efficacious.
  
2. The spice
• Probably, my favorite thing about Asian cuisine is you can always crank up the heat. Think: wasabi, chili paste, & curry
• Actually, scratch that. It's tied …sushi is just about the greatest invention ever.
  
3. The color
• Profe’s spots are a rich chocolately brown. Especially his heart-shaped one.
  

Special thanks to Epicurious for the baseline for a great recipe!

Happy Monday! Here's the Recipe:

Ingredients:

10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces, plus more for greasing pan

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

6 tablespoons crushed red pepper

(I used some incredibly hot Bhutanese pepper that I bought at a farmers market in Bumthang, Bhutan last July)

6 tablespoons instant coffee

3 tablespoons cinnamon

2 teaspoons nutmeg

2 large eggs, chilled

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon unbleached all purpose flour

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Position rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 325°F. Line 8 x 8 x 2-inch metal baking pan with foil, pressing foil firmly against pan sides and leaving 2-inch overhang. Coat foil with butter. Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Continue cooking until butter stops foaming and browned bits form at bottom of pan, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; immediately add sugar, cocoa, 2 teaspoons water, vanilla, chili pepper, instant coffee, cinnamon, nutmeg, and 1⁄4 teaspoon (generous) salt. Stir to blend. Let cool 5 minutes (mixture will still be hot). Add eggs to hot mixture 1 at a time, beating vigorously to blend after each addition. Add chocolate chips. When mixture looks thick and shiny, add flour and stir until blended. Beat vigorously 60 strokes. Stir in nuts. Transfer batter to prepared pan.

Bake brownies until toothpick inserted into center comes out almost clean (with a few moist crumbs attached), about 25 minutes. Cool in pan on rack. Using foil overhang, lift brownies from pan. Cut into 4 strips. Cut each strip crosswise into 4 brownies.