I love the change in season. Not for the change in weather, but for the ever changing seasons of food. But rather than harping on about the latest ancient grain or root vegetable that has just been hand pulled from a small batch, organic farm – YAWN! – my wanton desires are driven by the candy aisles and my local coffee store, which living in Seattle means the most local Starbucks.

One of my fave seasonal offerings right now just has to be Starbuck’s Chile Mocha. This drink has fast become my daily indulgence and tastes absolutely divine – just think of it as a large, warm hug in a mug. Not only satisfying your daily caffeine craving, the Chile Mocha will pleasantly soothe your soul with the dreamy tastes of chocolate, milky whipped cream and a warming aftershock of hot chilli.

At 9:30am last Sunday, I stood in front of a box of brownie mix contemplating whether it had yet reached an acceptable time to start baking – and stuffing myself silly with – chocolate brownies. Overcome by feelings of guilt, I tentatively closed the cupboard door and reached for a handful of Hot Tamales instead. This was the moment the most awesome idea struck me – why not build upon the brilliance of Mr Schultz and take the magical spicy, hot flavours of my fave Chile Mocha and shove them into a warm, freshly baked chocolate brownie? BOOM – yes that just happened!!!

Tossing all caution to the wind, I rescued my box of Chocolate Brownie Mix from the cold confines of the kitchen cupboard, added some ground cinnamon, spicy red chilli flakes and a handful of Hot Tamales and the Chewy Gooey “Hot Tamales” Brownie was born.

Me and the hubby are both spice addicts and love eating hot, spicy food – Sriracha Sauce is excitedly squirted over everything we eat – so I like to add 2 (or more) teaspoons of chilli flakes to my brownies for added oomph. If you’re not so keen just add 1 teaspoon, or leave the chilli flakes out altogether.

I also made the “mistake” of not chopping the Hot Tamales into smaller pieces before adding to the mix, which although didn’t affect the taste, did make it very hard to cut the brownies into neat edible-sized squares – the Hot Tamales are tough cookies to cut!

To make these hot little squares of gooey chewy goodness, simply make up a pack of your favourite chocolate brownie mix, then add cinnamon, red chilli flakes and a handful of chopped Hot Tamales. Combine all the chewy, gooey goodness together – I again use my Tovolo® Dough Whisk  – and the hard work is already done!

Simply pour the mixture into a lightly greased baking pan and bake according to the instructions on the brownie box (around 40-45 minutes at 325°F).

Let the brownies cool completely in the pan before trying to remove them – or you’ll get into one hot sticky mess – then cut into squares and dig in!

Followers in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, or Spain can now buy our favourite kitchen tools and gadgets at the Arugula & Rocket Store on Amazon. Readers in the USA can visit the Tovolo website.