We started with a 20 oz box of Ghirardelli dark chocolate brownie mix. We added 1 tsp ground cinnamon and ¼ tsp cayenne pepper to the dry ingredients, stirring to make sure the cinnamon and cayenne were evenly distributed throughout the mixture. Then, following the instructions, we added the wet ingredients (1 egg, ¼ cup water, and ½ cup neutral vegetable oil). We poured the mixture into a greased 8×8 square baking dish and baked in a preheated 325 degree oven for 40 mins (reduced from the 45 mins recommended in the box instructions). (Mar. 2018)
Note: We based the proportions of cinnamon and cayenne on this Aaron Sanchez recipe for Mexican brownies: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/aaron-sanchez/aaron-sanchezs-mexican-brownies-recipe-1972919
Note 2: For another flavor profile, we skipped the cayenne and cinnamon and added 1 ½ tsp (½ Tbsp) vanilla extract to the wet brownie mix. We found inspiration here: https://lmld.org/15-ways-to-jazz-up-boxed-brownies/ (Feb. 2019)
Cooking Adventures 