cinnamon brownies

Close your eyes. 

But open them actually, so you can read this... just squint. 

Imagine a cold evening. 

Your oven is on, heating the kitchen (and your cold toes), 
and the smell of brownies is dancing through the air. 

You pull them out. 

they're hot! 

But you dig in anyway. 

You may burn your tongue, but it's all worth it. 

Nothing beats straight-from-the-oven brownies....am I right?? 

Brownies always sound good to me, but I especially love them on cold nights. I saw this recipe over on hannah's blog a few weeks ago and knew I had to try it out. And just as I suspected, they're perfect! 

I swapped out the vanilla for mexican  vanilla (because I do that with about everything in the fall/winter) and added a bit of cinnamon....just to mix it up a bit.

Cinnamon Brownies

original recipe from smitten kitchen

10 tablespoons butter

1 1/4 cups sugar

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons  unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

1 teaspoon mexican vanilla

2 large eggs, cold

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Line the bottom and sides of an 8×8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.

Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium heatproof bowl and place in the microwave, cooking in 30 second increments as not to over cook. Stir after each 30 seconds. Cook until butter is melted, and ingredients are well combined--it looks fairly gritty at this point, but it smooths out once the eggs and flour are added. If you don't have a microwave, a double boiler will work just the same.

Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. Spread evenly in the lined pan.

Bake until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, 20 to 25 minutes.

Dig in with a fork.....or if you are patient,  let cool completely on a rack and then  lift up the ends of the parchment or foil liner, and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. Cut into squares.

enjoy!