These brownies... they are "IT!" And, I'm not talking about the horrid Stephen King clown/novel-turned-into-movie that I shouldn't have snuck behind my parents' back to watch at the age of 12. I can't even tell you how long afterwards I decided I could finally brave a shower again. Seriously.
But, very seriously, these brownies are what I should've braved a long long time ago, at the age of 12 even. Although this particular recipe includes roasted cherries, I have decided that the base will now be my go-to homemade brownies recipe...no mix-ins needed. If you know me at all, this is saying A LOT, because you will know my love for boxed brownies. (Not that I'm giving up boxed brownies, either.) 😉
My biggest regret here is that I didn't get a decent photo to show off the roasted cherries inside the brownies. Your imagination will have finish the work. It's my fault, as I forgot to chop up the brownies and just stirred them in whole. Soooo, they weren't spread throughout the batter as much, therefore not every bite exposed a cherry. Oops! Please learn from my mistake. But, they were still just as merry cherry wonderful!
I also decided to share this quick little video on how to use my new cherry pitter. I love this thing. I was "forced" to buy it after I bought my many pounds of cherries then realized my single cherry pitter is packed away in storage right now. Oops. So, I quickly ordered this from Amazon and SO glad I did! It's inexpensive and pits 4 cherries at a time. Much quicker and less messy than my one packed in storage. The best part of this video? My 2-year old shows you how it's done. 😉 (Just know he was adult supervised the entire time.)
Recipe Card
Roasted Cherry Chocolate Brownies
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh cherries , pitted and halved
- 1 ¼ cups , plus 2 Tablespoons sugar, divided
- 5 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate , chopped
- 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate , chopped
- 8 Tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into quarters
- 3 Tablespoons cocoa powder
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Spread the cherries on a small roasting pan and sprinkle with 2 Tablespoons of the sugar. Toss to combine. Roast for 10 minutes, or until the juices start oozing. Remove the pan from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
- Line a 9x9-inch or 8x8-inch (I prefer) baking pan with foil and lightly spray the foil with cooking spray. Alternatively, omit the foil and spray the pan with Baker's Joy (this is what I use, and I have clean release every time.)
- In a heatproof bowl (I use my stand mixer bowl) set over a sauce pan of barely simmering water (or use a double boiler), melt the chocolate and butter, stirring occasionally until smooth. Whisk in the cocoa powder until thoroughly incorporated. Set aside to cool.
- In a separate medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, remaining sugar, vanilla and salt until combined, about 15 seconds. Mix in the warm chocolate mixture until smooth. Add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. Gently fold in the roasted cherries.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan and spread evenly with a rubber spatula. Bake for about 35 minutes (for 9x9-inch pan) or 40-45 minutes (for 8x8-inch pan), or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or just with a small amount of sticky crumbs. Allow to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack, at least 2 hours.
- If you used the foil, remove the brownies from the pan using the foil and transfer to a cutting board. If you used the Baker's Joy instead, you can just cut the brownies while in the pan.
- Source: Adapted from Annie's Eats
Nutrition
