Eggless & Spicy Mexican Brownies

I know that I have been missing from action for the past few days. No blogging or blog hopping due to personal commitments. :)) M has been away on work and I thought of investing the extra free time I had doing some productive work rather than sitting in front of the computer. I zealously decided to clean my two floored, 5 bedroom house in a couple of days. Hasty decision, it was. In my over enthusiasm, I turned upside down the whole home and without a helping hand, the chore soon turned into a long, backbreaking one. The result - I feel sore right now from top to bottom and probably need another two days to get the job done.
And lucky me, it is snowing outside while I am drafting this. In fact, it has been snowing nonstop from the morning. The snow will continue through tomorrow morning and our driveway needs to be cleaned. I have guests coming over this weekend. :)  Now you see, with that physical stress, who needs a computer for timepass?

However dear Kalyani's new event "Magic Mingle" kept echoing somewhere at the back of my mind and so here I am with the post. In this event, two ingredients would be picked each month and the participants have to choose a dish that uses both of them. The interesting combo of "Cinnamon & Chillies" is the theme for the first edition. Many spicy rice dishes came into my mind as soon as I read about this combo but wanted to try something different. And hence these Mexican brownies that I first came to know about in my initial days of blogging. This is not your typical sweet brownie but a spicy version.

I came across an egg based brownie recipe but stuck to it since I had all other ingredients ready. I turned the recipe into an eggless version. By mistake, I deleted the recipe source URL and at this hour, I am not able to locate the source recipe. (I will do it later and provide the link.)
The original recipe recommends to use a 8 inch square pan covered with aluminum foil. I halved the recipe and used two mini baking pans. I had to cut those rectangular loafs into brownies and in the process the beautiful upper layer is gone. It appears as though I have ended up with cake like texture but it is not the case. The 1/2 tsp chili powder gives really a kick in your mouth. If you don't want to experience it, reduce the quantity. The brain kept forgetting that these were spicy stuff and the palate accustomed to a sweeter version kept experiencing the jolts. :) If you totally eliminate the chili powder, you will still be left with yummy brownies.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup almond flour

1/2  tsp chili powder (reduce if needed.)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking soda
 A pinch of salt

1/4 cup butter, cut into pieces

2.5 oz semi sweet chocolate

1 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup yogurt

1/2 cup light brown sugar

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cover the baking pan with aluminum foil, grease it and  dust with flour. Tap out the excess flour.
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Turn off the heat and whisk in the chocolate. Let it sit until the chocolate melts, then add brown sugar, yogurt and vanilla. Mix well.
Combine the flours, chili powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl. Add the wet ingredients. Pour into the baking pan and smooth the top with a spatula. The batter rises and so fill the pan with batter to only a little over half.
Place in the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out with a moist crumb, about 30 minutes.

This also goes to Vardhini's Bake Fest, hosted by Pradnya this month.

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