Raspberry Chipotle Brownies with Chocolate Ganache

Before I start this blog post, I'm going to be completely honest with you.  This recipe involves packaged brownie mix.  There, I said it.  For some food bloggers, this is a serious crime.  While I've made brownies from scratch before, I find brownie mixes to be a quick shortcut for someone like me who doesn't bake regularly.  I originally whipped these brownies up on Saturday for a holiday party that I was supposed to attend that evening.  But life can get complicated and I ended up dealing with some personal family matters that evening instead of going to the party.  But I still wanted to share these brownies on my blog.

I found this recipe in a handy little cookbook that I received in May at a dinner sponsored and hosted by Eggland's Best.

I've been trying to make a point of actually using my cookbooks instead of just relying on finding recipes online and this sounded interesting to me.  First, I gathered up my ingredients:

• 1 box of Pillsbury brownie mix
• 1/2 cup of vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 Eggland's Best eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder (I used chipotle rub)
• 1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder
• 1/2 cup red raspberry jam
• 1 bag Hershey's semi-sweet chocolate baking chips
• 1 cup whipping cream

I pre-heated the oven to 350 degrees and sprayed a 13 x 9 baking dish with baking spray.

I put together the brownie mix in a bowl.  If you've made brownies from a box before, then it is pretty straightforward - brownie mix, eggs, vegetable oil and water.  But this recipe called for two additional ingredients - chipotle powder and espresso powder - which would make these brownies really stand out!

I mixed the ingredients together by hand until the batter was smooth.

I poured the batter into the pan.  I then measured out 1/2 cup of raspberry jam.  I decided to use the Stonewall Kitchen's red raspberry jam that I had leftover from the baked brie recipe on Friday night.

I added spoonfuls to the top of the brownie batter and used a knife to try to make it into S-shapes.  "Tried" is the operative word.

I baked the brownies in the oven for thirty minutes and did the toothpick taste to make sure it had cooked through.  I cooled the brownies for about an hour.  When the brownies had cooled, I whipped together a chocolate ganache by melting the bag of semi-sweet chocolate baking chips and a cup of whipping cream in the microwave at thirty second intervals.  This took about five intervals and I thoroughly stirred the chips and cream in between each interval.  I poured the chocolate ganache on top of the cooled brownies and put the pan in the refrigerator for about half an hour to chill.

I didn't actually try the brownie until Sunday but they were still incredibly delicious.  The brownie itself was really rich and had a nice slow heat to it.  I didn't think that 1/2 teaspoon of chipotle rub would make such a difference but it really did.  The raspberry jam and the chocolate ganache added sweetness to help balance the spicy chocolate brownie.  The chocolate ganache was definitely rich and added a gooey chocolate element to the brownies.  Despite using a boxed brownie mix, I think these raspberry chipotle brownies turned out pretty fabulous!

Tell me, have you ever made any creative desserts using packaged or boxed mixes?