Cherry Brownies

5 (1)

I woke up this morning craving chocolate:  cake, cupcakes, BROWNIES! Growing up, my sister and I use to stop at The Cake Box bakery after school. Their brownies were good but what was even better were the brownie edges they cut off and sold in little plastic bags. YUM! So, I decided I would make these brownies that are so easy and only have a few ingredients which you probably have in your pantry. And they are so much better than a box mix.

First, preheat the oven to 350-degrees. Then spray a 9 x 9 baking pan – I prefer glass – and line with parchment paper. Spray the parchment paper.

In a medium size bowl, whisk together 2 sticks of melted and cooled butter and 2 cups of sugar. Once combined, whisk in 4 room-temperature eggs. Then add 1 cup of flour and 2/3 cup of good cocoa powder and whisk just until there are no lumps. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of good vanilla extract and whisk until combined. Finally, use a rubber spatula to fold in a handful of dried cherries that have been tossed with a little flour.

Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top with the rubber spatula. Make sure you push the mixture into the corners of the pan, so everything is even. Pop into the oven and bake for about 30 minutes (ovens differ) or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs but not runny batter.

Now here is the hard part. Let the brownies cool completely before you cut them. If you do not, they will not hold their shape. And for them to hold their shape, the way you cut them is important. Here is how I do it. I lightly spray my sharp chef’s knife with cooking spray. After I have made one clean cut, I wipe the blade of the knife, spray it again and cut again. Then I repeat this process until all the brownies are cut.

Even though The Cake Box closed years ago, you can still have delicious brownies. Maybe I will post their Fantail Bread soon. Enjoy!