Mexican Brownie Sundaes

I decided to challenge myself by entering a recipe contest (you can click on this link to see the contest https://www.facebook.com/FoodieBlogroll/app_451684954848385).  They gave us three ingredients that had to be in the recipe - chocolate, cinnamon and strawberries.  I am not a big fan of chocolate, but who can resist a thick gooey brownie with some vanilla ice cream?  Even I love the combination, and it's even better with a drizzle of caramel sauce.  These were the thoughts going through my head as I pondered what to make.  

I decided to go with a variation of it by making Mexican brownies (brownies with cinnamon in them) and using them in a sundae with vanilla ice cream and strawberries.  It seemed like a great idea in my head, so I went with it.  

I actually really enjoyed this dessert.  Everyone in my house did actually, which surprised me a little!  People in my house tend to prefer sticking to original recipes, so I was thinking they may not like the brownies with cinnamon in them.  They did however, and they loved this sundae.  Yay!  

Mexican Brownies

2 sticks of butter
4 oz of unsweetened chocolate
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1 tbsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 325.  Line an 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper, grease it well with butter or cooking spray and set aside.

Melt the butter in chocolate in a medium sized saucepan over low heat, stirring continuously.  Remove pan from heat and stir in the sugar.  Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk to combine until nice and smooth.  Add the flour and cinnamon, and stir until just combined.  Pour into baking dish and bake for about an hour, or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.  Allow the brownies to cool for at least an hour before cutting.

To assemble the sundaes:  Put about 1 1/2 cups of sliced strawberries in a bowl and add about 2 tsp of sugar, then mash them together until they become mushy and juicy (feel free to add more sugar if you like them sweeter).  Take one brownie and crumble it up in the bottom of a bowl, top with some vanilla ice cream, then add some of the mashed strawberries, and then crumble some more brownies on top.  Enjoy!