Active Time

　　15 minutes

　　Total Time

　　40 minutes, plus cooling

　　All the warm, spicy flavors of your favorite holiday cookie in an extra-dense chocolate brownie that's perfect for gifting.

　　

Ingredients

Makes 16

　　Nonstick vegetable oil spray

　　2 1/4 cups sugar

　　1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder

　　1 teaspoon kosher salt

　　1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

　　4 large eggs

　　3 tablespoons molasses (not robust/blackstrap)

　　2 teaspoons vanilla extract

　　1 cup all-purpose flour

　　2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

　　2 teaspoons ground ginger

　　1 teaspoon baking powder

　　1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

　　

Step 1

Place a rack in center of oven; preheat to 350°F. Coat a 9x9" baking pan with nonstick spray. Line pan with 2 overlapping layers of parchment, leaving a 2" overhang on all sides. Coat parchment with nonstick spray.

　　

Step 2

Whisk sugar, cocoa powder, and salt in a large bowl. Melt butter in a medium heatproof bowl in the microwave or in a medium pot over medium heat. Immediately add hot butter to sugar mixture and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously with spoon or spatula after each addition, until batter is thick, shiny, and smooth. Stir in molasses and vanilla. Using a sifter or fine-mesh sieve, sift in flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking powder, and cloves. Stir until well incorporated, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes.

　　

Step 3

Transfer batter to prepared pan; smooth top. Bake brownie until slightly puffed and top is firm to the touch, edges are set, center is moist but not uncooked, and a tester or paring knife inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs (not runny batter) attached, 40–45 minutes.

　　

Step 4

Transfer to a wire rack and let brownie cool completely in pan. Using parchment overhang, lift brownie out of pan and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 16 squares.