by Becky Lane

Created on: September 13, 2008   Last Updated: November 30, 2011

SINFUL SECRETS

Many years ago, I began working part-time for a caterer, who happened to be renowned for her sinful desserts. Imagine my surprise, upon discovering that many of her famed cakes and brownies began with a boxed mix! The art, she confided, was in the add-ins. Her most notable secret was simply adding a jolt of coffee or espresso to a chocolate cake or brownie mix, intensifying the chocolate and adding the nuance of mocha.

After finding that even the finest cooks took shortcuts upon occasion, I gave up making brownies from scratch (my family never knew the difference), and experimented further with boxed mixes. For a while my specialty was Chocolate Mint Brownies. I covered the hot brownies with a layer of those square, wafer-thin chocolate mint candies, let them soften, then swirled them with my spatula. By the time the brownies cooled, the mint topping had re-hardened into a delicious frosting. From there we went through our Rocky Road phase (marshmallows and pecans), then it was Turtle Brownies (caramel and nuts) and on to every type of chocolate chip, chunk, or candy add-in that showed up in the supermarket.

As I matured, so did my taste buds, and I found myself craving something more...more delicious, yet more subtle. An orchestra of simple ingredients performing a symphony in my mouth and on my senses. Thus, my Mexican Chocolate Brownie was born:

1 family size (for a 9x13 pan) chocolate chunk brownie mix
1/2 tablespoon almond extract
1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 1/2 ounces Mexican chocolate (such as Popular brand, in the flat gold and white box)

Preheat the oven and mix the brownies according to the package directions, stirring in the almond extract and the ground cinnamon. Spread in a greased, 9x13" baking pan.

In a food processor, pulse the flour and brown sugar until blended. Add the butter, cut into pieces, and whirl again. Now pulse in the coarsely chopped Mexican chocolate, until you can squeeze handfuls of the mixture and it sticks together. Break the handfuls into chunks and space these evenly over the surface of the batter. Bake according to package directions, until a wooden skewer comes out with moist crumbs attached. Let cool in pan on a rack.

Makes 24 brownies. Can wrap uncut portions tightly and freeze for later.

Learn more about this author, Becky Lane.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.