Baked Sunday Mornings: Spicy Brownies

I am not the best about planning ahead with the recipes for Baked Sunday Mornings.  Josh's office had a holiday cookie exchange earlier this week.  After much deliberation, I made these Speculoos Buttons, which were on the cover the December issue of Bon Appetit.  However, after baking this week's Baked Sunday Mornings selection, Spicy Brownies, on Saturday, I realized they would have been a perfectly acceptable treat for the cookie exchange.  The good news, though?  They were both excellent recipes!  I would definitely make the speculoos again (and probably will before the holiday season is over) and we loved the brownies.

I have made the famous Baked Brownies from the first book numerous times, and think they are pretty much my ideal brownie:  fudgy, but not gooey and perfectly proportioned in terms of sugar, butter, and chocolate.  Not to mention they do not have any annoying fussy steps and do not get many dishes dirty.  The spicy version is a fun twist and I am also looking forward to trying the peanut butter variation.  I made a half recipe in an 8x8 pan, which took 25 minutes to bake rather than the 30 recommended for the 9x13 pan.  I also omitted both kinds of ginger that were in the recipe because I am not big on the chocolate/ginger combination.  We had the brownies warm with vanilla ice cream last night, which was fabulous of course.  I do have to say that when I sampled one today, I thought it was even better,  since the spices had a chance to settle.

To see how the rest of the group fared, please visit the Baked Sunday Mornings site, where you will also be able to find the recipe.