Cherry Chocolate Brownies

You’ll see that the addition of Amaretto is optional in this recipe, but I have a massive bar full of random liquors that have been purchased solely for cooking that rarely see the light of day. Amaretto is one of them. I don’t even remember what I first made with it, but I do know it was a long time ago and it’s been sitting there ever since. If you don’t share in my problem of impulse buying liquor that you “intend” to cook with don’t go out and buy some, just leave it out… unless…

…yes! Let’s bring back the Amaretto Sour friends! One of my gfs used to exclusively drink Amaretto Sours when we went out a million years ago when I actually went out and I remember thinking it sounded absolutely horrendous… until I tried it. And this version sounds absolutely divine. I digress…

Butter – I use salted butter because it’s what I buy. 🙂

Cocoa – I use dutch process cocoa powder for no scientific reason, it’s just what I buy at Costco. There is a difference between dutch process and natural cocoa, but I’ll leave that to people smarter than me to explain.

Amaretto – this is optional, but we have a bar full of bottles of liquor that I have purchased specifically for cooking that rarely see the light of day and this was a perfect time to crack one open. You can leave it out if you want.

Chocolate – I use chopped dark chocolate mostly because we always have a lot of extra chocolate lying around and this is the perfect way to use it up. Chocolate chips work just find though.

Cherries – this recipe uses fresh cherries, which are truly a heavenly thing, nature’s candy. If you only have frozen cherries, please thaw and drain them first. I would even go so far as to dry them off a little so they don’t release too much extra moisture to the batter. This recipe is not made for maraschino cherries even though I do love them very much.

Cherry Chocolate Brownies Recipe Variations:

Almond Version – definitely use the Amaretto. Also add in 1/2 tsp almond extract with the vanilla and fold 1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds in with the cherries.

White Chocolate Version – replace the dark chocolate with chopped white chocolate or white chocolate chips.

Triple Chocolate Version – replace 2/3 of the dar chocolate with a mixture of milk and white chocolate.

This is a one-pan recipe that comes together quickly. First, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. When the butter is melted, stir in the Amaretto, if using, and then whisk in the sugar. Whisk this for a good minute, to make sure it’s fully combined.

Next, whisk in the cocoa powder and a pinch of salt and take the pan off the heat. Let this cool slightly so the next step doesn’t turn your hard work into chocolate scrambled eggs.

Whisk in the egg and the egg yolk and the vanilla. Then add in the flour and fold until it’s just combined and you don’t see any flour streaks. Gently fold in the cherries and the chocolate and spread the batter into a pan.

Bake the brownies and then let them cool completely before removing them from the pan and cutting into squares.

• Cherry Overnight Oats with Chocolate (Black Forest Oats)
• Gooey Chocolate Cherry Cast Iron Skillet Dessert
• Cherry & Brown Rice Salad with Pistachios, Mint and Sumac
• Double Dark Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake Bars
• And if you can only get your hands on dried cherries, try these:
• Granola Yogurt Bars with Cherries & Almonds
• Golden Roasted Beets with Cherries & Tarragon Brown Butter Vinaigrette

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