Aztec Brownie Bars

The term Aztec refers to the addition of cayenne pepper, cinnamon and espresso, as well as the chocolate! These are rich, sweet, slightly spicy with a delightfully cunchy, nutty crust. And yes, the espresso does come through nicely.

My husband asked for brownies, and I decided to turn the brownie into a bar with a pecan shortbread crust. This gave me an opportunity to use the tiny amount of pecans in the pantry. As neither of us are huge fans of the espresso I bought, some of that went into the crust as well.

I had a bar of bittersweet chocolate, and added in some chocolate chips, as it wasn't quite enough.

Heat the oven to 350F and line a 9" X 13" pan with foil. Lightly grease the foil. Set aside until needed.

To make the crust, combine the following in a food processor:

2 cups flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon finely ground espresso




Process until the nuts are finely ground.

Add:

6 ounces cold butter, cubed

Process until you have a fine crumbly mixture.

Press the crumbs onto the bottom of the prepared pan.

Bake until the crust is golden, about 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven and set aside until needed.

In a heavy bottomed pan, over low heat, or in a double boiler, melt:

4 1/2 ounces dark chocolate
6 ounces butter

Whisk in:

1 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar

Whisk until the sugar is no longer grainy.

Whisk in, one at a time:

3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla

Add the dry ingredients, and whisk until just combined:

1/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon cocoa
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 pinches of cayenne pepper

Pour the brownie batter onto the baked crust, spreading it evenly.

Bake until the brownie layer is puffed, starting to crack, no longer soft in the middle and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out with moist crumbs attached.

This should take about 22 minutes.





Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before cutting into bars or squares. These bars are slightly spicy, very rich and hard to stop eating! Enjoy with a glass of milk, a cup of coffee, a glass of wine or serve warm with vanilla ice cream...

• The nuts in the crust can be omitted if you have none. Other nuts, such as almonds, walnuts or macadamia nuts can be used instead of pecans.
• The crust can be made ahead and pressed into the pan a day ahead; it can also be frozen. Bake when needed. Extra crust can be frozen in a tightly sealed container for use at another time.
• No espresso? Use instant coffee, or omit the coffee and add cinnamon to the crust.
• Make sure that the pot you use for melting the chocolate and butter has a heavy bottom. Keep the heat low, and stir often to avoid scorching the chocolate. A double boiler is another option.
• The brownie layer is made in one pan (or bowl) which makes clean up easy.
• To make things easy, measure all the brownie layer ingredients out ahead of time, so you just have to add and whisk when the chocolate and butter are melted.
• Omit the spices from the brownie, and add orange zest instead. Fold in dried cranberries or chocolate chips before baking.
• Be sure that the brownie is not overbaked, or it will be dry. As soon as there is no jiggle in the centre, after about 20 minutes of baking, check it with a skewer.