Cinco de Mayo has become quite the celebration in this country! Just as everyone is Irish on St. Paddy's Day, we all find ourselves partying as honorary Mexicans on this holiday.

But what's a celebration without food — especially dessert? And if you're having dessert, well, how can you go wrong with brownies?

Mexican chocolate is flavored with cinnamon and with almonds, so I incorporated these ingredients into the brownies; they are perfect enhancements. Rich, a bit crunchy, and utterly decadent, be sure to bake a batch of these for Sunday's festivities!

Cinco de Mayo Brownies

1 cup butter
1/3 cup + 2/3 cup mini chocolate chips
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-1/2 tablespoons instant coffee
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1-1/2 cups unbleached flour
1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2/3 cup sliced almonds, chopped
1/3 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.

In a small saucepan, melt butter and 1/3 cup chocolate chips together.

Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine cocoa powder, oil, vanilla, instant coffee, and eggs. Beat with a mixer on "high" for 1 minute. Add sugar, then beat on "high" for 2 minutes.

Beat in melted butter and chocolate on "high" for 1 minute.

Beat in flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon just until combined. Stir in remaining 2/3 cup chocolate chips, then spread batter into prepared pan.

Sprinkle almonds over the top of the batter, then sprinkle with the brown sugar.

Bake for 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out almost clean. Let cool completely.

Trim 1/4-inch from edges of brownies, then cut into 3 columns and cut across into 6 rows.

Makes 18 large brownies.

Mary Bilyeu writes for AnnArbor.com on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, telling about her adventures in the kitchen - making dinner, celebrating holidays, entering cooking contests, meeting new friends ... whatever strikes her fancy. She is also on a mission to find great deals for her Frugal Floozie Friday posts, seeking fabulous food at restaurants on the limited budget of only $5 per person. Feel free to email her with questions, comments, or suggestions: yentamary@gmail.com.

Go visit Mary's blog — Food Floozie — where she enthuses and effuses over all things food-related; and look for her monthly articles in the Washtenaw Jewish News. "Like" her on Facebook, or send a tweet on Twitter, too.

The phrase "You Should Only Be Happy" (written in Hebrew on the stone pictured in this post) comes from Deuteronomy 16:15 and is a wish for all her readers - when you come to visit here, may you always be happy.