Dark Chocolate and Cherry Brownies

Apparently I've been in a brownie mode recently. First raspberry, now cherry. This was a little different from the previous recipe, though. This actually came from Cooking Light though they definitely didn't taste light. I find that for light recipes a lot of the lightness usually means that the serving size is smaller than what you'd normally eat. So if you can get 16 servings from this then they're light. Otherwise, not really. ;)

Compared to the raspberry chocolate brownies these were definitely less dense and more gooey. We felt they could have actually used more cherry flavor so next time I might try adding some more cherry preserves or even mix in some dried cherries to bring the flavor out.

Dark Chocolate and Cherry Brownies

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 3.4 ounces all-purpose flour (about 3/4 cup)
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup cherry preserves
• 1/3 cup water
• 5 tablespoons butter
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 large egg white
• 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper; coat with cooking spray.

3. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, 1 cup sugar, unsweetened cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Combine cherry preserves, 1/3 cup water, and butter in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Add preserves mixture to flour mixture; stir well. Add egg and egg white; stir until smooth. Stir in semisweet chocolate chips. Scrape batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool in pan on wire rack.

Raspberry Brownies

Dennis's absolute favorite flavor combination is raspberry and chocolate. He's tried it in every possible form. Chocolate bars, ice cream, even beer. So when I came across a recipe that combined brownies with raspberry jam I had high hopes.

I did make a few modifications to the original recipe. It called for nuts, but I know most people don't like nuts in their brownies so I left them out. The chocolate chips were also supposed to be a mix of white chocolate and semi-sweet but I used all bittersweet. So just use whichever chocolate is your favorite (or what you have in your cabinet which is what I did).

Dennis gave the brownies two big thumbs up. He recommends heating them up a bit in the microwave so the chocolate chips on top melt a bit. They're pretty rich so you probably can just have one and satisfy your sweet tooth. Though a scoop of ice cream on top wouldn't hurt either...

Raspberry Brownie Recipe

Ingredients
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened baking cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) salted butter, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, divided
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2/3 cup raspberry jam
1 2/3 cups chocolate chips (semi-sweet or bittersweet would be fine)

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Step 2: Lightly grease an 8 x 8 x 2-inch baking pan; set aside.
Step 3: In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, and salt; set side.
Step 4: In a large bowl, with an electric mixer beat together butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract until creamy.
Step 5: Add 2 eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each one.
Step 6: Gradually beat in flour mixture.
Step 7: Spread 1 cup of batter into prepared pan.
Step 8: Stir jam until smooth. Drizzle over batter.
Step 10: Beat remaining egg into reserved batter.
Step 11: Stir in 1 cup of chocolate chips.
Step 12: Spread batter carefully over top of jam layer..
Step 13: Sprinkle remaining chips over top.
Step 14: Bake for 30-33 minutes or until center is set. Cool completely before cutting onto bars.

Makes 16 brownies.

Snickerdoodle Blondies

I never really knew what a Snickerdoodle was until a few years ago. When I realized they didn't actually contain Snickers I dismissed them. But now that I'm older and wiser I can appreciate the simplicity of cinnamon and sugar to make a cookie that's not overly sweet.

So for another of our Christmas treats I found a recipe for Snickerdoodle Blondies. If blondies are good, topping them with cinnamon and sugar can only make them better, right? Um, definitely! Plus at least with bar cookies you don't have to worry so much about them coming out perfectly round. Not to say that I haven't had issues getting bar cookies out of the pan without some of them falling apart but that's for another post.

If you want to make these even more festive I could see replacing some of the sugar with colored sprinkles. Red for Christmas, orange for Halloween...I love customizable treats!

Snickerdoodle Blondies (adapted from Dozen Flours)

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon grated or ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup butter, room temperature
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
a pinch nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease and/or line a 9×13 inch pan. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and set aside. In large bowl, beat together butter and brown sugar for 3-5 minutes. Add in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla, and beat until smooth. Stir in the flour mixture until well blended. Spread evenly in prepared pan (mixture will be somewhat sticky, so you may want to use a greased spatula or your hands). Combine the granulated sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a little bowl. Evenly sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over the top of the batter. Bake 25-30 minutes or until surface springs back when gently pressed. Cool before cutting. Makes 20-24 bars.