A CHOCOLATE PRODUCT AND RECIPE REVIEW...

So I bought this product this week, expecting great things. I mean, what else would you expect with a name like LAVISH? It wasn't horrible, it just didn't live up to its name. There was one really good bite. I think it must have had a huge chocolate chip in it. Save your $.

But now this, this was really good. I was craving something with that mexican chocolate taste. Love that hint of cinnamon and vanilla in it. Once I had the BEST hot chocolate at Maggie Moo's, and I keep trying to recreate that. They made hot chocolate, then put in a scoop of their cinnamon vanilla ice cream. Have you ever had hot chocolate with a scoop of ice cream? Well, it's wonderful, especially with Cinnamon Vanilla ice cream. Anyway, Maggie Moo's is long-gone around here. I found this recipe and it's a KEEPER!

Cinnamon Brownie Cupcakes (courtesy McCormick seasonings website)
1 c. flour
1 c. cocoa
4 t. cinnamon
1 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
2 c. sugar
1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce
3 eggs
1 t. vanilla extract
1/2 c. mini chocolate chips.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix first 5 ingredients together. Set aside. Mix sugar, applesauce, eggs and vanilla in large bowl until well blended. Gradually stir in flour mixture until well mixed. Stir in chocolate chips. Spoon 1/4 c. batter into 15 paper lined muffin cups. Bake 15 minutes or until done with toothpick test.

NOTE: I reduced it to 2 eggs because I don't like brownies with an eggy taste. I also had to cook it 20-25 minutes to get done. We LOVED the cinnamon-fudgy brownie, but next time I think I will reduce the cinnamon to 3 teaspoons. The nutrition information indicated 4g fat per cupcake, but it would be even less than that with the reduced amount of eggs! Big taste and not a lot of fat. I like it!