Rich mole flavors are in each and every bite of this Mole Chili.  It’s full of heat from three kinds of peppers and it’s full of rich chocolate and cinnamon flavors.  The longer it simmers, the richer this chili gets.  It will keep you warm on the coldest of nights!  This post is sponsored by the Certified Angus Beef ® brand in conjunction with a social media campaign through Sunday Supper LLC. All opinions are my own.

I don’t know about you but Fall kind of smacked me in the face.  I mean, it was 70 F nights just 2 weeks ago.  And then WHAM!  It’s 35 F at night.  Where in the world did that transition to fall go?

Not that I’m complaining.

Trust me when I say I prefer the cooler weather.  I cannot stand to be hot.  My genes were made for cooler weather, sweatshirts, and hoodies.  And snow.  I love snow.  I love those days where you’re stuck in the house because it’s too horrible outside.

That’s when you fire up the stove and simmer an all day pot of chili to warm you from your toes up.  And you turn on the oven and bake some chocolate chip cookies to dip into your cocoa.  Or your milk.  I love those days!

This pot of chili is perfect for one of those days.  The longer it simmers the better it tastes.  I let mine simmer at least 2 1/2 hours before I turned to stove off and let it sit for about 45 minutes.  It was perfectly warm!  It still melted the cheese I put on top but didn’t burn my tongue when I took a bite.  When it’s that hot you can’t really taste the intricacies of a good chili.

And, there are so many intricacies of flavor in this chili.  It, of course, all starts with the Certified Angus Beef ® brand ground beef.  If you’re going to make amazing chili, you need to start with amazing beef.  The flavor in their ground beef is stellar.  It has that epitome of flavor you’re looking for in ground beef.

The three chiles in the mole base combine to make a sauce with some heat to it, but it’s not so hot you can’t eat it.  I made sure of that.  I’m not a huge fan of so much heat you can’t taste your food.  It’s not a spicy heat, but a warm heat that will sit on your tongue for a while.

You see that deep red color?  That just shows you how much flavor that base has in it.  And that’s just the three peppers and some beef broth.  That’s a great start to a great chili.

And that start is combined with additional spices like ground cumin, onion powder, and cinnamon stick.  I’ve added some bay and a touch of oregano to round out the chili base.  And not to mention the chocolate in the base, too.

Make sure it’s a quality, semi-sweet or dark chocolate.  I like dark chocolate in mole recipes.  I don’t typically use the unsweetened chocolate because I like that added layer of flavor that little bit of sugar adds to the dish.  It levels out all the tartness in the tomatoes.

What’s left to add?  I sautéed some onions slightly before adding the beef to brown.  Then I added one can of red kidney beans and one can of pinto beans.  And, as always, I added one can of diced tomatoes.  I always add a can of diced tomatoes to my chilis.  That’s what won me over with the hubs and vice versa.

You see, it was a cold day in Cleveland when I drove up for a visit.  We decided it was  stay in and watch movies weekend with a big pot of chili.  He was making his chili his way.  He turns to me and says, “I have a secret ingredient I add to my chili.  I add a can of diced tomatoes.”  I DO TOO!!  So, we always add a can of diced tomatoes to our chili.  Usually it’s the fire-roasted kind, but add whatever tomatoes you want.

I wanted y’all to see that gorgeous chili color and see the huge sticks of cinnamon that simmered the whole time with the chili.  I love the earthy flavor it added as opposed to the ground cinnamon I was going to add.  It brings the right amount of cinnamon flavor that adds to the richness of this chili.

I know, I keep saying how rich it is, but it really is.  It’s rich in all these complex flavors.  I ate it slowly making sure to enjoy and taste all the flavors in this chili.  You can see that every bite will have plenty of flavor on it!

It’s definitely not a watery chili.  The broth is thick and stick to your ribs delicious.  Looking for a recipe that will warm you up on the coldest of winter days?  This is your recipe!  Between the thick broth full of flavor and the heat from the mole base you will be warm for hours after eating a bowl of this mole chili.

I topped mine with some queso fresco.  The hubs used some extra sharp cheddar.  We both topped ours with diced onion.  I sprinkled some parsley on mine and some cilantro on his.  I can’t do the cilantro thing.  It would be fun to top with some chocolate shavings to let your guests and family know there’s chocolate in there.  I might try that next time.

And next time,  might try some the Certified Angus Beef ® brand steak and make a hearty steak mole chili.  I did make a slow cooker Cincinnati-style steak chili.  That’s perfect for game day or tailgating!  In fact, chili is great for game day eats.  You can easily keep it warm for people to nibble on before the game.  What’s your favorite chili recipe?

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Mole Chili

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

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Ingredients

• 1 dried guajillo chile pepper
• 1 dried cascabel chile pepper
• 1 dried hatch chile pepper
• 4” piece of Vietnamese cinnamon
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1 tablespoon smoked garlic olive oil
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 11/2 pounds Certified Angus Beef ® brand ground beef
• 14.5 ounces dark red kidney beans
• 14.5 ounces pinto beans
• 14.5 ounces canned diced tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons chocolate picada sauce (or 2 tablespoons almond butter)
• 2 ounces dark chocolate
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 cups tomato juice
• Cheese, onions, cilantro, and other toppings of choice

Instructions

1. Place a large pot or Dutch oven on the stove over high heat. Toast the peppers and the cinnamon until fragrant.
2. Cup the tops off the peppers and place in the beef broth to steep for 30 minutes. Blend until smooth and strain through a fine mesh sieve. Set aside.
3. After the peppers have steeped, place the pot or Dutch over medium-high heat. Swirl the olive oil in the pot and sauté the onions until they begin to soften.
4. Crumble the ground beef into the pot and brown.
5. Stir in the tomatoes, beans, and picada sauce until combined.
6. Add the chocolate, cumin, onion powder, bay leaves, and tomato sauce. Stir in the mole sauce and simmer for at least one hour, stirring occasionally. This chili was simmered for at least 2 1/2 hours to develop the rich flavors in this mole chili.

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