Orlando's Spicy Brownies from Denise Swanson

Denise Swanson is one of my favorite authors for a number of reasons. 1. Her fun and award winning Scumble River series features saavy teen journalists who help heroine Skye with her cases. 2. Denise is an Illinois writer who supports many other authors. I have joined the Windy City RWA where she was recently President and you will not likely find a more professional successful group of authors anywhere. 3. She is a great person! Enjoy her spicy brownies! -AA  

Like cats, the citizens of Scumble River aren't partial to change. And like felines, they often show their displeasure in spiteful and destructive ways. So, when a new bookstore opens for business, fur is ruffled, claws come out, and a bookstore babe, loses all nine of her lives.

Along with change, most Scumble Riverites dislike spicy food, but the even the fussiest eaters love the brownies that Orlando Irwin bakes up at the new bookstore’s café.

Orlando’s Spicy Brownies

Ingredients

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate

1 stick butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 canned chipotle peppers in adobo, chopped

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons five-spice powder

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease 8 by 8-inch pan or mini muffin pans.

Melt the chocolate and the butter together, then whisk in the sugar. Stir in eggs, vanilla, salt, and chopped peppers. Sift in the flour and five-spice powder and mix until incorporated. Pour into mini muffin pans and bake for about 15 minutes or into square pan and bake for about 30 minutes

Denise Swanson is the New York Times bestselling author of the Scumble River mystery series. After coming face-to-face with evil, Denise quickly decided she would rather write about villains than encounter them in her daily life. She was shocked to discover that getting a book published was nearly as difficult as vanquishing scoundrels. Her series features Skye Denison, a school psychologist-sleuth. Denise writes from her experiences as a school psychologist and small town resident. Her most recent book, Murder of a Wedding Belle, is already in its third printing and her thirteenth book, Murder of a Bookstore Babe, debuts March 1, 2011.  Denise lives in Illinois with her husband, classical composer David Stybr, and their cool black cat Boomerang. http://www.DeniseSwanson.com