Vegan Mexican Hot Chocolate Brownies
To skip the post and step-by-step instructions and go straight to recipe, click here.These melty, fudgy, decadent brownies have been a hit with my coworkers the past few weeks. I’ve been bringing in batches of them during my recipe development, and they’ve gotten raved over each time! I was a little hesitant when I first started working on this recipe because I am far from vegan and don’t do much vegan baking when I’m just cooking for myself. But I promise, you’ll hardly even be able to tell that they aren’t traditional brownies. They’re so fudgy and dense, packed with big chunks of dark chocolate and warm spices. Not to mention one of the biggest pluses - they’re super quick and easy to throw together. They’re irresistible treats that’ll have you going back for another piece.
Recipe Notes
Vegan Butter: I use Melt brand vegan butter from Safeway, which is a great cheaper alternative to Earth Balance. Both will work wonderfully. If you’re opting for another kind however, just keep an eye out for whether or not your vegan butter contains olive oil. I personally do think olive oil is a nice compliment to dark chocolate and cayenne, but if you’re not going for that, stay away from the olive oil-based vegan butters because the flavor will almost definitely come through.
Plant-Based Milk: My go-to plant-based milk for baking is oat, because it has the most subtle flavor of the plant milks that I’ve tried. I’m also a fan of coconut however, because I just love coconut in general. You should be able to use any plant milk you have on hand, but I would recommend one with a higher fat content for a richer brownie.
Sugar: This recipe uses coconut sugar. Many vegans don’t eat refined cane sugar, as most cane sugars use a bone char filtration system. However, if you do eat cane sugar and it’s easier for you to use, it can be easily substituted in a 1:1 ratio. I wouldn’t recommend trying to substitute liquid sweeteners such as maple syrup or agave though, as they may add too much moisture and ruin the texture of the final product.
Step-By-Step Walk-Through
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Step 1:
Prepare Oven and Pan
Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
Grease an 8x8 inch baking pan with vegan butter.
Line the bottom of the pan with a square of parchment paper.
Cut two 12-inch long, 1-inch wide strips of parchment and lay them perpendicular across the bottom of the pan. These will be used to lift the brownies out of the pan after baking.
Step 2:
Make Batter
In a small pot, melt ½ cup vegan butter over medium low heat.
Pour melted vegan butter in a large mixing bowl and add 1 ½ cups of coconut sugar. Whisk to combine.
Whisk in ⅓ cup non-dairy milk of your choice and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste until just combined.
Add 1 cup all-purpose flour, ¾ cup dark cocoa powder, ¾ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon, and ¼ - 1 teaspoon of cayenne according to your taste. Mix with a large mixing spoon until just combined.
Fold in ¾ cup of roughly chopped vegan dark chocolate.
Step 3:
Bake
Pour mixture into prepared pan and spread flat.
Bake for 20 - 25 minutes. They may seem a little underdone in the middle, but they will set as they cool. While still warm, sprinkle generously with sea salt.
Let brownies cool completely, then press the other ¼ cup of chopped dark chocolate into the tops of the brownies to garnish.
Lift out of pan, slice, and enjoy!
Vegan Mexican Hot Chocolate Brownies
Servings: 9 Time: 20-30 minutes (active), 45 minutes - 1 hour (total)
Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
½ cup vegan butter
1 ½ cups coconut sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup dark cocoa powder
¾ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 ½ tsp. cinnamon
¼ - 1 tsp. cayenne powder (according to your preference)
1 cup roughly chopped vegan dark chocolate
Coarse sea salt for sprinkling
Directions
Step 1: Prepare Oven and Pan
Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Grease an 8x8 inch baking pan with vegan butter. Line the bottom of the pan with a square of parchment paper. Cut two 12-inch long, 1-inch wide strips of parchment and lay them perpendicular across the bottom of the pan. These will be used to lift the brownies out of the pan after baking.
Step 2: Make Batter
In a small pot, melt vegan butter over medium low heat. Pour melted vegan butter in a large mixing bowl and add coconut sugar. Whisk to combine. Whisk in non-dairy milk of your choice and vanilla until just combined. Add all-purpose flour, dark cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cayenne powder. Mix with a large mixing spoon until just combined. Fold in ¾ cup of roughly chopped vegan dark chocolate.
Step 3: Bake
Pour mixture into prepared pan and spread flat. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes. They may look underdone, but will set up as they cool. While still warm, sprinkle generously with sea salt. Let brownies cool completely, then press the other ¼ cup of chopped dark chocolate into the tops of the brownies to garnish. Lift out of pan, slice, and enjoy!