It’s gift season and I keep seeing those novelty “all-edge” brownie pans that have a zig zag divider snaking through the center that promises to make every brownie have that chewy exterior that usually comes with being baked up against the edge of the pan. And then it hit me, wouldn’t baking them in a muffin tin have the same effect? Yep. It sure does. So, no special pan required for these indulgent “All-Edge” Sweet and Spicy Brownies!
Chewy “All-Edge” Brownies with Warm Spices
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How Do You Spice Up Brownies?
I always like my chocolate with a little dose of spice, so I crafted this small batch of All-Edge Spiced Brownies with a little cayenne for kick and a touch of cinnamon for warmth. Both cayenne and cinnamon work beautifully with the earthy flavor of chocolate. If you’re not into spiciness, you can totally leave out the cayenne and cinnamon and make a really rockin’ plain brownie …And maybe stir in a 1/2 cup of chocolate chips? That’s totally up to you.
Small Batch Brownies
Because I didn’t want a million brownies laying around calling my name, I made a small-ish batch of six. After baking them, I realized that I could have filled the cups of the muffin tin even lower to truly make them two-bite brownies, and then had about 9 per batch (and they’ll look a little less like muffins). So, that’s also an option, just be aware that they’ll bake even faster if you fill the cups less.
Are These Chewy Brownies or Cakey Brownies?
These brownies are kind of light, but condense into a nice chewy texture when bitten into. That’s my favorite type of brownie. Not dry and cake-like, but not a dense brick like “fudge” brownies. It’s somewhere right in between! Yessssss.
Love chocolate and cayenne together? Check out my Chocolate Cayenne Crinkles or Aztec Hot Cocoa.
“All-Edge” Warm and Spicy Brownies
Servings 6Ingredients
- 1/2 cup flour ($0.07)
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder ( $0.21)
- 1 cup granulated sugar ($0.15)
- 1/8 tsp salt ( $0.01)
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper ($0.02)
- 1/8 tsp baking powder ($0.01)
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon ($0.02)
- 2 large eggs ($0.55)
- 1 tsp vanilla ($0.28)
- 4 Tbsp butter, melted ($0.36)
- 1 tsp butter (for greasing the muffin tin) ($0.03)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Coat the inside of 6 cups of a muffin tin with butter.
- In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, salt, cayenne, baking powder, and cinnamon until evenly combined.
- Cut the butter into chunks, then microwave until melted (about 30 seconds). Let the butter cool slightly while you add the eggs and vanilla to the bowl with the dry ingredients (don't stir them in just yet). Finally, pour the melted butter into the bowl and then stir until a thick, even brownie batter has formed.
- Divide the batter between the greased cups, then bake for 20 minutes, or until the centers are puffed and the edges are browned. Remove the brownies from the oven and allow to cool (or eat warm!).
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Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make “All-Edge” Spicy Brownies – Step by Step Photos
Start by preheating the oven to 375ºF and greasing the inside of 6 cups of a muffin tin with butter. In a mixing bowl combine 1/2 cup flour, 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 cup sugar, 1/8 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, 1/8 tsp baking powder, and 1/4 tsp cinnamon. Stir until everything is evenly combined.
Cut 4 Tbsp butter into chunks, then microwave until melted (about 30 seconds). Let the butter cool slightly while adding 2 large eggs and 1 tsp vanilla extract to the bowl. Add the melted butter last, then stir until a thick smooth brownie batter forms…
Like this. OMG YUM.
Divide the batter between the six greased muffin tin cups (or nine if you want them smaller, just remember they’ll bake faster).
Then bake for 20 minutes, or until the centers are puffed and the edges are just a little brown. Let them cool or eat them right away.
These awesome brownies are not dense when baked, but once you bite into them they compress into a thick, chewy, MOIST bite. So perfect.
Love this recipe so much – always a hit and perfect with vanilla ice cream. However, even when greased with copious amounts of butter, I still have trouble removing these from the muffin tin! Could I be undertaking them? Should I try refrigerating before removing them? Help!
Hmm, I’m not sure why yours are sticking so badly. Try letting them cool completely, then run a knife around the edge before trying to remove them.
I made these and WOW! DELICIOUS! I was planning to share them–well next time! I omitted the cayenne pepper, and sprinkled some mini chocolate chips on top before baking. Will definitely be using muffin tins when making Brownies in the future. Love the crispy edges. Thank you! Mary
I loved the flavor, but found them a tad too dry for me. Is there anything I can add to the recipe to make them just slightly moister?
More butter or some cooking oil would probably do the trick. :)
Thank you!!
These were heavenly! Love that it’s a small batch. I made the horrible mistake of using cupcake liners, to cut down on the mess in my muffin tin, but now I know better. The paper stuck to the sides and is really difficult to get off. Though it makes me slow down while I eat to really enjoy the flavors so I’m not scarfing down two in a sitting! Added dark chocolate and white chocolate chips. Think next time I’ll also up the cayenne to 1/4 teaspoon. This recipe is something I’ll be going back to over and over!
Does anyone else have an issue with this recipe expanding dramatically in the oven? I tried making these as mini muffins twice. They have been delicious both times, but they seem to expand a lot while they are baking, then collapse into a sort of cup shape. The second time, I made sure to fill none of the cups more than half-way, so they didn’t dramatically overflow, but they still puffed and imploded. Not necessarily a problem–just need to figure out what to put in the craters.
Forgot to leave my rating!
Oh my goodness! These are wonderful. Just the right amount of chewy and the tiny “afterburn” of the cayenne is perfect. I had recipients in mind for the remaining five, but I might have to rethink that.
This was fenomenal, I like using your recipes for dessert because I like your sweetness radar, I hate cooking something and feel it comes out too sweet!
I left out the cayenne and subbed nutmeg, other than that followed everything and these are very delicious.
I made these last night and they were awesome and the perfect mix of fudgey/cakey. It literally took about 5 minutes to whip up the batter while I had dinner in the oven — and I had all the ingredients on hand (I never seem to have chocolate chips around because they get eaten out of the bag and I never buy unsweetened chocolate). I put the batter in my silicone muffin pan with a blitz of cooking spray and they didn’t stick at all. My kiddos seemed uncertain about the spices but my husband and I loved them! I think they’d be delicious with different spices and/or mint extract.
Instead of using the muffin tin, I broke out the Wilton mini skull pans I picked up on sale this weekend. Looked cool and tasted great. Happy Halloween indeed! :D
Wow – amazing! I had everything on hand and whipped these up in a jiffy – so different yet delicious! Definitely making again!
Thank you for another wonderful recipe. We made these (subbing nutmeg for the cayenne) for my sons first birthday dinner. Everyone raved about them and my mother in law made me promise to send her the recipe. Your site is fantastic and my new go to for my weekly meal plan inspiration.
Got these in the oven as I type! The batter is delicious, so here’s hoping the brownies are just as tasty!
I tried these with Splenda in place of sugar. The batter turned out super dense & they’re more sugary sweet than chocolate sweet. I really like the size of the recipe, though, because it means we won’t overindulge.
I wanted to add that I typically use the little foil (instead of paper) liners for mine. The brownies don’t stick and they are still nice and crisp.
Made these using a mini muffin pan just now for bite sized brownies! Came out great. I did half the time in the oven and it was perfect. I’m sure they’re going to be a huge hit with the kids!
Also, I doubled the recipe and got just enough to fit in my huge 48 cupcake pan. These are going to be a big hit at my niece’s Girl Scouts Christmas party! Thanks for the recipe!
I loved this idea but did make one change – I used chinese 5 spice in place of the cinnamon & cayenne. I was really pleased with the results. Thanks for another great recipe, why would anyone use a box mix.
I just made those brownies. Absolutely amazing!
However, I had to add milk in the batter as mine was somehow really dense.
Oh, man!! These brownies are absolutely DELICIOUS!!!!! I omitted the cayenne pepper, and added the rest of the ingredients. This was my first time trying brownies with cinnamon. I served these brownies with some vanilla ice cream. Thank you, Beth, for this awesome recipe!!! :-)
Looking to make these. But wonder if I could replace the cayenne with something less spicy as I have a little one that would be eating these too. Would nutmeg work? By the way I love your site i meal plan from it every week. Thank you! You have helped me cut my grocery budget in half.
Yes, nutmeg would be awesome! Or maybe a tiny pinch of cloves?
There’s a blog called worstthingsforsale that made the same observation, and then I felt stupid for having bought a brownie pan earlier that year. My boyfriend and I made muffin-tin brownies soon after and they turned out a bit too dense for my preference. I think if I had used a bit lighter recipe, it would have worked out better.
These look delicious!! And super easy, which I love. :)
What Mel said.
Also, these are just what I needed this evening. Hubs and I each ate one, then the “top” of a second. Of course we had to Seinfeld reminisce.
You don’t disappoint, Beth! Thanks
silly question, but – can I use paper liners for these? does that make a difference? I’m lazy and don’t want to wash out an entire muffin tin for 6 brownies :P
Yes, you can, but they might stick to the paper! :) And the paper won’t let it get that nice crispy/chewy edge. The first batch I made I used non-stick spray and they stuck pretty bad, but I smeared butter in the cups of the second batch and they came out clean, so it was pretty easy clean-up. :)
I used paper liners for these brownies. I didn’t really have a problem with the brownies sticking, but the brownies were definitely more cake-like.
I used non-stick spray and found they stuck like crazy, so butter is probably the way to go. Still delicious though.
I made these – and they haunted me all nite. They were delicious !
I’ve been cooking my brownie recipe in muffin tins for years and could never understand why I didn’t see it more often! It just makes perfect sense doesn’t it! Buying a dedicated brownie edge pan doesn’t make sense if you can get a similar result and already portioned brownies in a pan I already have. I like my brownies spicy too, and like to add a little bit of powdered espresso which seems to emphasize the chocolate flavor and a sprinkle of salt flakes on the top to finish it all off.
These sound delicious and I can’t wait to try them. What do you think of using chipotle powder instead of cayenne? I think it would give them spice but add a little bit of smokiness as well. It may be worth a shot.
Oooh, that could be really interesting!
I made these tonite — I want to eat them All!!!
Good thing I only made 6, cause I ate most of them the first night.
I love the smaller portion dessert recipes! I do not need to bake 24 cupcakes or 48 cookies, generally speaking; so I love having a scaled back option.
THANK YOU!
Ohhh I’m totally into these! For edge reasons and spice reasons ;)
These brownies were amazing! I really like how it makes such a small portion. I halved the recipe, and I halved the amount of sugar. Topped with some vanilla ice cream, these brownies made the perfect after dinner treat.
That seems like a lot of sugar! I usually cut down on sugar in cake recipes since I don’t like things too sweet; how much do you think I could get away with without messing it up? Also just wanna say I LOVE your blog, as a permanently broke student who loves her food I use your recipes a lot :)
Have now made this according to original recipe, can’t stop eating :/
I halved the sugar and they still came out great. (I also used 1/4 tsp of ginger instead of cayenne, to make them spicy with a little less bite.)
Great idea with the ginger!
I’ve found that almost every dessert recipe on the internet has a crazy amount of sugar, and you can usually cut it down to 3/4 or 2/3 of the amount called for. If it’s not sweet enough, you can always put frosting or something on top. Maybe people are just so used to everything being super-sweet?
I usually cut down on sugar in my dessert recipes, as well. But for this one, the sugar actually plays a big role in the texture of the brownie, so I left it in. :D