Tessa’s Recipe Rundown

TASTE: Chocolate-forward, with just the right amount of cinnamon and heat from the cayenne, with added sweetness from the ganache and mini marshmallows to balance it all out.
TEXTURE: Fudgy brownies, silky-smooth ganache, and a sticky gooey chewiness from the toasted marshmallows.
EASE: So easy! A couple extra steps beyond a regular brownie due to the toppings – but it’s well worth the extra effort.
PROS: Easy, unique, and warming.
CONS: None.
WOULD I MAKE THIS AGAIN? Absolutely!

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These Mexican Hot Chocolate Brownies were created by Rae Jeffrey, one of our brilliant students from our Handle the Heat Baking School.

Rae won our Brownie Semester’s Recipe Creation Competition by popular vote, earning her recipe a spot on the HTH website.

Rae was inspired to highlight the warm, delicious flavors of Mexican hot chocolate (her favorite cold-weather drink) in a baked good that she could share with family over the holidays.

At age 14, Rae was introduced to the magic of baking by her Grammy, who taught her how to make traditional family recipes – recipes where all the measurements were in handfuls!

As an adult, Rae wanted to learn how to get more consistent results when baking, and she stumbled upon Handle the Heat. Learning the science of baking and converting recipes to gram measurements has made her baking much more consistent and a lot more fun.

Rae loves experimenting with flavors and techniques and enjoys sharing her baked goods with loved ones. Baking has become her favorite creative hobby, and she contributes to her community as a volunteer baker.

Myself and the amazing women behind Handle the Heat were so excited to test out this brownie recipe. It received rave reviews from across the team – including those (like myself, despite my blog name) who aren’t huge fans of spice!

Congratulations, Rae, for your remarkable accomplishment in crafting your own brownie recipe, and thank you for sharing these unique brownies with us!

graphic of Tessa Arias of Handle the Heat holding a whisk.

Sprinkle of Science

How to Make Mexican Hot Chocolate Brownies

What Is Mexican Hot Chocolate?

While traditional hot chocolate is heavily sweetened, Mexican hot chocolate adds cinnamon and chili pepper to the chocolate, for a spiced, subtly sweet drink. The cinnamon and chili add flavor, warmth, and a little heat for a super cozy beverage. In this recipe, ground cinnamon and cayenne are added to a fudgy brownie base and topped with silky-smooth chocolate ganache and mini marshmallows, for a distinctive cool-weather treat everyone will love!

What Type of Chocolate Chips Should I Use?

Use a chopped bar of dark baking chocolate for the brownie batter to avoid adding too much sweetness. Feel free to fold in any variety of chocolate chips you prefer, but semisweet is Rae’s recommendation. Whatever you do, don’t skip the chocolate chips! They help to develop that shiny crust on top of brownies. See my tips for achieving that thin, shiny crust on brownies here.

Using Butter + Oil in Mexican Hot Chocolate Brownies

With any cocoa powder-based brownie recipe, we need quite a bit of fat to prevent the cocoa powder from drying the brownies out and making them crumbly.
These brownies use a combination of melted butter and oil for the best balance of taste and texture.
Any flavorless oil should work. We’ve successfully tested this recipe using vegetable oil and canola oil. Make sure your oil is fresh to avoid any off flavors.
Use unsalted butter so you can fully control the level of saltiness.

Learn more about Butter vs. Oil in Baking here.

Why is There Cornstarch in Brownies?

Cornstarch makes the brownies thick and chewy like box mix brownies and improves that crust on top.

Can I Reduce the Sugar in These Brownies?

Don’t reduce the amount of sugar in these brownies unless you want dry and crumbly brownies.
If you’re worried these brownies will be too sweet for your preference, simply skip adding the ganache and marshmallows, and be sure to use dark or even bittersweet chocolate and chocolate chips in the brownie batter.
Learn more about sugar’s many roles in baking brownies here.

Can I Make These Brownies Without the Ganache and Marshmallows?

I promise it’s worth the couple of additional steps to add the ganache and marshmallows. However, if you prefer a less-sweet brownie, feel free to skip the toppings – your brownies will still be delicious and flavorful.

Can I Double This Mexican Hot Chocolate Brownie Recipe?

Yes – simply double all ingredients and bake in a 9×13 metal pan, adding a few minutes to the bake time.

What’s The Best Pan for Baking Brownies?

I recommend an 8×8-inch metal baking pan like this one, lined with foil or parchment paper. Learn more about the differences between Glass vs. Metal Baking Pans here.

How Spicy Are These Brownies? Can I Adjust the Spice Level?

The recipe as written will give you a warming hit of cinnamon, and a super subtle kick of heat from the cayenne. I can’t tolerate a lot of heat (ironic given my blog name) but didn’t find these too spicy. Feel free to adjust the spices listed in the recipe as you like. Please note that older spices will carry less flavor than fresh spices.

How to Store Mexican Hot Chocolate Brownies:

These brownies taste best the day they are baked.
They can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature or up to 5 days in the fridge. When chilled, they become even more fudgy!
The ganache and mini marshmallows will firm up slightly without getting too hard if stored in an airtight container to shield them from the dryness of the fridge.

Can You Freeze Mexican Hot Chocolate Brownies?

We haven’t tried freezing these brownies once fully assembled, but untopped brownies freeze great! Freeze the whole slab or individual slices by wrapping in plastic wrap and storing inside a zip-top bag or an airtight container. Freeze for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the fridge or for about 30 minutes at room temperature before topping and serving.