Friday, January 22, 2010

Ancho Pine Nut Brownies with Cinnamon Ice Cream

A couple of weeks ago, we had some of the coldest weather this part of Texas has experienced in many years. We get a little uneasy around here with near-freezing temperatures, and when it dipped into the 20s (F) we were confused and concerned. So, what was I doing to prepare for this weekend of serious winter weather we were about to have? I was making ice cream. The ice cream was going to be served on warm brownies, but still, it was 20 degrees in Austin and I pulled out the ice cream maker. Maybe I should start by telling you about the brownies because that might make more sense. I wanted to mix up a southwest, chile powder-infused kind of brownie, and I found the perfect recipe in Nuevo Tex-Mex. The recipe was created by Rebecca Rather, and it includes ancho chile powder with semisweet chocolate, chocolate chips, and pine nuts. I thought big squares of those brownies warm from the oven would be great topped with a generous scoop of cinnamon ice cream. The cinnamon ice cream is from The Perfect Scoop.

The brownie recipe makes a large batch, so I cut the quantities in half and baked it in an eight inch square pan rather than a nine by thirteen inch pan. Still, the halved quantities included a half pound of semisweet chocolate, half a pound of butter, four eggs, and a cup and a half of sugar along with flour, ancho chile powder, chocolate chips, and pine nuts. These were kind of serious brownies. The batter was very easy to stir together without a mixer, and they went into 325 F oven for about 35-40 minutes. The recipe suggests a baking time of 20-25 minutes, but my brownies were nowhere near done at that point. The cinnamon ice cream was started by steeping broken cinnamon sticks in warm milk with sugar and a pinch of salt. Then, a custard was made with egg yolks and the warmed milk, it was strained, and cream was added. The custard was churned after being chilled.

The ancho chile powder in the brownies accented the chocolate in the same way espresso would. There was clearly something more than chocolate happening, but the chile flavor was just a supporting role and not obvious at all. The texture of these brownies was delightfully lighter than I expected and definitely not dense. The crackly top gave way to an almost cakey but near-fudgy interior. They were somehow the best of both worlds, and the pine nuts were a nice addition too. While I don’t think cinnamon ice cream would be a bad choice to set atop any brownie, I was especially happy with it on top of these. I’m also convinced this dessert was a good distraction from our freakishly cold weather at least for a little while. And just for the record, it's 75 degrees (F) today, and that's my favorite kind of January weather.




38 comments:

  1. I used to love brownies until one day I learnt how to make one myself. That was my biggest mistake. :( After knowing what goes in there, I stop eating brownies even until today. However I would love to bake brownies for parties and gatherings. :)

    Love your brownie combination and it is a great snack to have right after skiing.

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  2. this is a great sounding combination - I am going to have to give this a whirl.

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  3. Divine! That is a wonderful combination!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  4. I am seriously considering making that cinnamon ice cream this weekend!

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  5. I made an ancho chocolate flourless cake once and, my, was it good. This would be fantastic.

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  6. Snack? dessert? a snack-dessert? Yummy brownies!!!! Nothing beats a sweet treat like that with a nice huge scoop of ice cream. Yum!!

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  7. Thank you for your visit today! Your brownies and cinnamon ice cream sound wonderful. I'll bet that ancho flavor is delicious in those brownies!

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  8. your photos are superb. I have to agree with your choice of ice cream as well. It does seem to be a perfect match. Florida is also returning to it's normal wonderful winter weather.

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  9. I can eat ice cream while shivering in below freezing temps. It doesn't matter.

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  10. I once ate gelato outside in a snowstorm in Cambridge. Hah. So I see nothing wrong with eating ice cream when it's 20 degress outside. Though, I confess I had no idea that Austin got that chilly. ;)

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  11. Such a great brownie. I would love it with the cinnamon.

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  12. ice cream on top of anything must be good! Your brownies looks perfect!

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  13. Where do u come up with these incredible things. I am just dying over these flavours. I WANT THAT BROWNIE!
    *kisses* HH

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  14. the freshly baked warm brownie and the cool ice cream is such a perfect match :)

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  15. the brownie looks intense...but i really want that cinnamon ice cream! hmmm...might have to make that soon!

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  16. I bow down to the dried chilli-chocolate combo. Really, you can't beat that. And to pair those brownies with fragrant cinnamon ice cream, Lisa, is pure genius.

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  17. Do you realize the mind games you are playing with me this morning? We are having freezing rain that will glaze the landscape in a sheet of ice that will likely trap us in the house for days. I might go insane craving this sweetness . . . good thing I have all the ingredients to make it. 8-D

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  18. It's brrrrrrr freezing cold & reading your post gives me 'hot flashes' of the good ancho types. I got some interesing chile stuff in a spice bottle from some good folk in Canada a while ago. I think I must give these a shot soon...there goes my 'Ten in 10', but you do know how to tempt Lisa!! YUM!!

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  19. I put chili powder and Lindt chili chocolate chips in cookies for a post that you can see tomorrow of SippitySup. What a crazy coincidence. GREG

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  20. wow the nutty, spicy, chocolatey combo sounds great!

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  21. OMG, My Kingdom for a piece of that brownie and icecream :)

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  22. Sounds wonderful! I LOVE cinnamon ice cream and can eat it no matter what the temperature is outside (even though I don't get to experience really cold temps anymore...).

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  23. First of all, thanks for rubbing it in, lol! 75 degrees! Wouldn't I love that....

    The brownie sounds and looks amazing. I never thought of adding pine nuts...and ancho chili powder! wow, I love the way your mind works.

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  24. I love brownies and this recipe is brilliant!

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  25. I love the ancho chili chocolate combo so I know just how delicious this recipe is - thanks for the inspiration - this may be my first baking endeavor on my new stove.

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  26. Brownies with ice-cream - a perfect dessert for the hot sunny day here. Looks so irresistable!

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  27. yes, i'd enjoy the rich, spicy, chocolate-y brownie quite a bit, but regardless of how tasty it is, it would pale in comparison to the manna-from-heaven known as cinnamon ice cream. gadzooks. :)

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  28. Hey why not, we always eat ice crema in the winter, it doesn't go out of style. And the brownies, wow.

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  29. Lisa you come up with the most unrelated elements and put them together so beautifully. Wish I could have some of these on these chilly days.

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  30. 20 degrees is cooold. We had that a month ago. I'm glad it's behind us.
    I love the combination of chocolate and chilis but never tried to make anything at home. Hmm, will have to do something about that soon. I even have an ancho chili that I bought especially for that.

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  31. Brownies and cinnamon icecream... hmmm, how delicious can it get. Love the look of your brownies! As for the weather; it's still pretty cold here and as we speak I am looking at a white blanket of snow everwhere. It hasn't been as cold here in a looooong time!

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  32. sounds mindblowing. I'm totally addicted to brownies, pine nuts and ice-cream. And a fresh ice-cream maker owner as well. And I'd never even thought of a possibility for a cinnamon ice-cream. So this post was all about wow-moments for me.
    As for the temperature.
    It was -27 C here on Sunday. Yeah... we got all confused as well :d. That's -16.6F according to the Google converter. And I was serving home made peanut-butter toffee ice-cream :D

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  33. What a great idea. A spicy, rich brownie topped with cinnamon ice cream!
    Perfect combination.

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  34. What a delicious combination! The brownies are so thick and fudgy - just the way I love them! And cinnamon ice cream? That wouldn't last long in my house!

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  35. A fantastic dessert! I really love the addition of chile powder and pine nuts!

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  36. Pine nuts in brownies, that's a luxury version than using almonds or other nuts. This one is a gourmet dessert !!!

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  37. Your brownie recipe is convincing me that I need to hunt down and get some of that ancho powder asap! I love chocolate and chili, my favorite bar is Lindt Chocolate Chili and I would love to reproduce the flavor in a brownie. Plus I brought some delicious pine nuts back with me from Lebanon.

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  38. What unique brownies! The spice and pine nuts sound so good!

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