Monday, February 14, 2011

Mexican Chocolate Streusel Brownies


Just in time for Valentine's Day: Mexican Chocolate Streusel Brownies
I got the idea for these from the new Sunset cookbook, but I didn't make their recipe exactly. (Their recipe looks wonderful, but I wanted to adapt it. This is the charm of sewing or cooking your own things - you can change things to suit yourself.)

First I made the streusel topping. This involved sending Mr. Hunting Creek to his favorite ethnic grocery to get the Ibarra Mexican chocolate. (He also bought some shrimp ceviche and tomatoes and tortilla chips, but those aren't required for the brownies.)
Take one circle of the chocolate, and break it and then chop it into smaller pieces. I used a large knife to help this along, taking care to NOT chop my fingers. The chocolate is hard, so warming it slightly helped in the chopping - only slightly - don't melt it. Add that to the Cuisinart or mixing bowl. Chop until small - like chopped nuts.
In the food processor or bowl,add to the chopped chocolate, 1/2 cup flour, 1/4 cup brown sugar(it makes no difference whether it is light or dark) and 5 tablespoons butter.
Mix some more, until it looks crumbly. About 30 seconds or several pulses. Set aside - this goes on top of your brownies.

Then I made my brownies.

I adapted this recipe to my interpretation:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cups Cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a 9x 13" pan.
In a saucepan, melt the butter, then add the sugar and make sure it is all dissolved and melted. Turn off the heat. In a bowl mix the eggs, cocoa, salt, cinnamon baking powder, almond extract and vanilla. Blend that with the melted butter and sugar. Blend in the flour. I mix all of this right in the saucepan. Scrape into the prepared 9x13" pan. Sprinkle the Streusel evenly on top. I baked mine for 30 minutes. Your oven may be hotter or cooler - check after 28 minutes. They will be cooked and not goopy. Every one likes their brownies a certain way.
These received high marks from Mr. Hunting Creek, our 20 year old son and a visiting friend. They were great served with ice cream. They were also good with my coffee this morning, renamed into Mexican Chocolate Streusel Brownie Coffee Cake. Hey, it's Valentine's Day.

7 comments:

Beangirl said...

Those look yummy (and I'm not a brownie person at all, so that is definitely real praise).

Although... I first looked at your picture and I thought you had somehow baked little bird legs into the brown. I wasn't totally sure how you did it, what they could be made out of (hopefully, not real birds) and even more importantly, what the significance and meaning of a Bird Leg Mexican Brownie might be. Is it some sort of fertility symbol? Does it signify the coming of spring? Is it a icon of some sort?

Only then did I notice the top of the brownie, which rather suspiciously included a chicken head. Oh. It's a plate. A chicken plate.

This is what comes of doing your freshman year in cultural anthropology and the rest of your five years in fine arts. You get to be a little... soft in the head.

Word verification: "dulleigh". This is how yuppies spell "dully".

Michael Hanko said...

Wow, these sound wonderful. I adore that Mexican chocolate, with its grainy texture and intense cacao taste. Thanks for sharing this recipe.

Karen in VA said...

Yummy!!!! Of course, nothing I'm supposed to eat, but just looking at them shouldn't hurt.....which of our local ethnic grocery stores does Mr. Hunting Creek like to visit?

MushyWear said...

And what a yummy way to celebrate! PS: Beangirl cracks me up!

Debbie Cook said...

Those look great!

I had the same first thought as Beangirl - what are the legs sticking out?? - until I realized it was the plate. Hahaha. It kind of would be funny to serve brownies with feet, though.

Karin said...

Yum! Sadly, I am cutting back. For now, at least.
Your comment that making bags is sort of like having babies really made me smile. Thanks for stopping by my blog :-)

The Slapdash Sewist said...

That sounds so delicious. Wish I could have been there for Brownie Struesel Coffee Cake.