So, true Mexican chocolate is made with cinnamon and piloncillo (pee-lone-SEE-yo): a grainy, minimally-processed sugar. If you’re adventurous and want to use it, see my note* at the bottom of the page. If you’re looking for an easier way to make brownies, just follow this. Let’s get into it:

The Recipe: 

• 1 cup butter (2 sticks)
• 2t oil
• 1 cup + 2T brown sugar
• 1 cup + 2T white sugar
• 3T vanilla
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup dark cocoa powder
• 1t salt
• A scant 1/4t cayenne
• A scant 1/4t Aleppo pepper
• 1/2t cinnamon
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks or chips
• 1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
• A greased 13 x 9 inch pan (these are thick and delicious)
• A 350°F oven
• Optional: vanilla ice cream to put on top

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In a pot, melt the butter, oil, and sugars over medium heat. Whisk until nicely combined, then remove from heat and whisk for 1-2 minutes so the mixture can cool down. Whisk in vanilla and eggs.

With a wooden spoon or spatula, mix in the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and spices. Mix until almost combined, then get the chocolate chips in there and mix until you see no streaks of powder. Don’t over-mix this.

Pour into the greased pan and bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely before trying to remove them from the pan.

If desired, top with a sprinkle of powdered sugar and cinnamon (and a little Aleppo pepper if you want). Or top with ice cream, that’s real good also.

Serve to your absolute best friends because these are so tasty that anybody who eats them will instantly fall in love with you.

*If you want to use piloncillo**: go to your local bodega, pick up a cone of piloncillo, chop it up, and replace 1/2 a cup of white sugar with 1/2 a cup of piloncillo. This type of sugar doesn’t melt into the batter like you may be used to, and you’ll end up with a little bit of a grainy texture in the brownies. If you like that, go for it!

**Make sure you read how to properly pronounce piloncillo before you ask anybody at the bodega to help you find it.