Brownie mix with cinnamon and chili powder
Jump to Recipe

Mexican Cinnamon Brownies

These Mexican brownies with nuts are rich, chewy, cakey and absolutely delicious.  Spices such as cayenne, chili and cinnamon add a Mexico flare that offers a sweet heat. The nuts add an earthy flavor and crunchy texture that add a lot of dimension to this chocolatey treat.  This is an elevated and unique dessert that is a win every time.  I know you will love these Mexican chocolate brownies!

This recipes is my gluten free Mexican brownies recipe. I use a gluten free 1:1 baking all-purpose flour.  You can use a regular wheat all-purpose flour instead if that is what you have on hand or prefer.  I use a good quality cocoa powder and a rich dark chocolate(bittersweet) for the extra chocolate chips that are mixed in.  I love biting into a hard chunk of chocolate in the brownie, so I add the chips, but this is optional.   

I have seen a lot of recipes that use hot chocolate powder mix along with the cocoa powder to make a Mexican hot chocolate brownies variation, also known as abuelita Mexican hot chocolate brownies.   Feel free to go half and half with hot chocolate powder and cocoa powder if you want to try this out.   

If you want to make Mexican brownies from mix that is pre-made in a box, it is essentially the same thing, all the dry ingredients are already measured and incorporated together.  You will add the wet ingredients in and mix them to make the batter. Easy instructions on the back will outline the precise proportions of dry ingredients to get the ratios correct. 

This is such a fun holiday treat.  It is a typical casual brownie, yet the Mexican spices and nuts add so much uniqueness and flare. I know that you will love this Mexican brownie recipe.

Abuelita Chocolate Mexican Brownies

I think that these brownies taste similar to Aaron sanchez brownies because they have a perfect texture and well balanced amount of chocolate. 

Like the Zambrero brownie options you can easily make these vegan Mexican brownies by omitting the eggs and using dairy-free butter.  I use Miyokos plant-based butter. It tastes like the real deal – I use this butter for all of my recipes.

Even though people tend to give more praise to homemade desserts, Mexican chocolate brownies from a mix are really pretty great too. So, if you don’t want to buy all of the individual ingredients, go right ahead and buy a box mix and add in the spices and additional ingredients. If easy Mexican brownies is your thing, no shame in the box mix brownies.   I have never seen brownie mix with cinnamon and chili powder already added in but what a great idea for the box brownie mix (listen up Betty Crocker!).

After having these Mexican brownies at a hole in the wall Mexican restaurant, I quickly realized Im a big fan of brownies with cayenne pepper.  I think that the heat is super alluring and interesting and it keeps me coming back for more.  If you don’t have cayenne pepper you could also make brownies with chili powder to get that nice earthy heat. 

If I were to recommend a brand of chocolate chips I would say Ghirardelli because there isn’t a tastier brownie than the Ghirardelli Mexican brownies.  The only caveat is they are not dairy-free. 

The Mexican spiced brownie is a great staple baked good – its easy, quick and impressive. These are a great surprise for holidays, birthdays, special events and of course Cinco De Mayo!

Brownies Made With Mexican Chocolate

Brownie mix with cinnamon and chili powder
Easy mexican brownies
Gluten free mexican brownies

Brownies Mexicanos

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup gf 1:1 baking flour from Bobs Red Mills
  • 1 tsp baking powder 
  • 1 cup high quality dark cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 tbsp water
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1/8 cayenne pepper or chilli powder
  • 1 tsp cinnamon, ground Ceylon
  • 1/3 cup chopped halved walnuts
  • 1/3 chocolate chips -bitter sweet dark chocolate

Instructions:

Preparation: grease the brownie pan with butter.

  1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Add the dry ingredients to a bowl and whisk together flour, baking powder, brown sugar, cocoa powder, sea salt, cayenne pepper and cinnamon.
  3. Add wet ingredients to a separate bowl and whisk together: melted butter, eggs, water, vanilla.
  4. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix until batter is smooth. 
  5. Add chopped walnuts to the batter and stir.
  6. Pour brownie batter into the greased 8×8 inch square pan and place in the oven.
  7. Cook for approximately 35-40 minutes.  Check to see for doneness by sticking a toothpick into the center and checking to see if it comes out clean.
  8. Remove when fully cooked and allow to cool.
  9. Cut brownies with butter knife and remove. 
Mexican chocolate brownies
Vegan mexican brownies

Mexican Cinnamon Brownies:

Other additions you could add to make this unique for a special occasion or for the holidays:

-Make a simple homemade frosting to make these Mexican brownies with frosting – this sweetens them up, while at the same time upgrading the brownies aesthetic.  

-Adding sprinkles or edible glitter confetti to make these pretty and festive. 

-Mexican brownies with dulce de leche – make a homemade caramel sauce and drizzle it over the top!

-Mexican brownie bites heated for vanilla ice cream sundae. 

-Hazelnuts or pistachios brownies from scratch.

This is a great recipe to try if you’re a fan of rich chocolatey brownies and Mexican spices. If you do try this Mexican brownies with nuts recipe please rate it or comment below. If you made any alterations and want to let me in on your ideas on this recipe, I would love to hear about it!  If you would like to share or pin on Pinterest I am always thankful.  Check out my food journey on Pinterest at Molé in the Wall.

If you are a chocolate dessert fan, check out some other delicious posts: Flan & Chocolate Mug Cake, chocolate chip zucchini bread or Caramel Chocolate Dipped Apple Slices

I hope you and your family love these classic abuelita brownies so much that they became a family tradition!

Related recipes:

  • Pioneer women mexican brownies recipe
  • Mexican brownies Betty Crocker
  • Duncan hines mexican brownies
  • Brownies Mexico
Mexican brownies from mix

These Mexican brownies with nuts are rich, chewy, cakey and absolutely delicious.  Spices such as cayenne, chili and cinnamon add a Mexico flare that offers a sweet heat. The nuts add an earthy flavor and crunchy texture that add a lot of dimension to this chocolatey treat.  This is an elevated and unique dessert that is a win every time.  I know you will love these Mexican chocolate brownies. Enjoy this dessert with a Mexican flare!

Mexican Brownies with Nuts (gluten-free)

Ingredients

  • 1 cup gf 1:1 baking flour from Bobs Red Mills
  • 1 tsp baking powder 
  • 1 cup high quality dark cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 tbsp water
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1/8 cayenne pepper or chilli powder
  • 1 tsp cinnamon, ground Ceylon
  • 1/3 cup chopped halved walnuts
  • 1/3 chocolate chips -bitter sweet dark chocolate

Instructions 

  • Preparation: grease the brownie pan with butter.
  • Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Add the dry ingredients to a bowl and whisk together flour, baking powder, brown sugar, cocoa powder, sea salt, cayenne pepper and cinnamon.
  • Add wet ingredients to a separate bowl and whisk together: melted butter, eggs, water, vanilla.
  • Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix until batter is smooth. 
  • Add chopped walnuts to the batter and stir.
  • Pour brownie batter into the greased 8×8 inch square pan and place in the oven.
  • Cook for approximately 35-40 minutes.  Check to see for doneness by sticking a toothpick into the center and checking to see if it comes out clean.
  • Remove when fully cooked and allow to cool.
  • Cut brownies with butter knife and remove. 

Write A Comment

Recipe Rating