Father’s Day was a few weeks ago, and we decided to make brownies for my father-in-law. He’s a huge cherry fan, so I wanted to add a little something to the brownies to make them even better.
Candied cherries seemed like a great idea. Don’t Candied Cherry Brownies sound delicious?
They were. And he loved them.
We received the candied cherries from Paradise Fruit Company, who was kind enough to send me a few different types of candied fruit, like ginger, lemon peel, orange peel, and fruit cake mix.
The recipe I used is a tried and true recipe in our house. This, along with the banana bread recipe I use, is a staple, and we make it at least every other week. I was pretty excited to share it with my husband’s family.
It’s from Green Valley Kitchen, and it’s an old-fashioned brownie recipe. I made a couple of alterations to how I put them together, and I’ve learned my family prefers not to add chocolate chips.
Plus we were adding candied Red Cherries this time! I didn’t want to overshadow that delicious ingredient.
How to Make Candied Cherry Brownies
The ingredients needed for the candied cherry brownies include flour, cocoa powder, butter, water, sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt, and candied cherries.
I used roughly a half cup of candied cherries in this batch, but I think I would prefer more, so I’d probably increase that amount to 3/4 cup or an entire cup next time.
To start, you want to preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. I sprayed a 9″ x 13″ glass baking dish with cooking spray to prevent the dreaded sticking.
I chopped up the cherries in the very beginning and set them aside, but you can chop them right before you add them if you prefer.
Besides the cherries, I tend to deviate from the recipe quite a bit. I try to make baking as easy as possible for me most of the time, since I have two boys that are young and wild.
That being said, I don’t follow the directions on the original recipe. I tend to throw all the dry ingredients together first, and add the wet ingredients in a certain order.
I have had great luck doing this, so I hope you do too!
After cutting the cherries up, I added the cocoa, baking soda, salt, flour, and sugar. I made sure to mix this up really well.
I add the wet ingredients in a certain order, since I’m adding melted butter, and I prefer not to have scrambled eggs with my brownies!
All kidding aside, I add the melted butter and water first, followed by a good mix.
Then I add the rest of the wet ingredients, the vanilla and eggs, before I mix again. It can seem a little thick at first, but it should come out pretty smooth.
A good mix here, and now we add the highly anticipated ingredient – the candied cherries.
One more good mix, and it’s ready for the waiting baking dish. It can take from 35-40 minutes in the oven at this point. Mine usually come out at 35 minutes.
We had my husband’s family over to our house for Father’s Day, and we dug right in! He was pretty happy with the results, and he’s always happy to be a little bit of a guinea pig.
I can’t wait to try them again with even more cherries! So yummy.
Candied Cherry Brownies
Not your grandma's brownies. The added candied cherry twist makes for a delicious take on your old-fashioned brownie.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup cocoa
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup butter, melted
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 - 1 cup of candied Red Cherries, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray 9" x 13" glass baking dish with cooking spray.
- Add cocoa, baking soda, sugar, salt and flour to bowl, and mix.
- Add melted butter and water to dry ingredients. Mix well.
- Mix in vanilla and both eggs.
- Add chopped cherries, and stir one more time.
- Pour into prepared baking dish. Bake for 35-40 minutes, checking after 35. If a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, they are done.
- Let cool, cut, and enjoy!
Notes
The original recipe calls for chocolate chips, so if you're looking for extra chocolate-y, add in a cup of chocolate chips!
If you’re interested in another recipe with a tasty candied fruit twist, check out my Banana Fruit Bread recipe!
Sarah is the founder of Baking Kneads, LLC, a blog sharing guides, tips, and recipes for those learning how to bake. Growing up as the daughter of a baker, she spent much of her childhood learning the basics in a local bakery.
carolyn borske
Thursday 2nd of September 2021
can i use all whole wheat pastry flour?