Fruit & Nut Brownies
Photo by: Lucy Alexander
Lucy had her first piece of chocolate before she could walk. My husband Chris slipped it to her while she was sitting in her stroller. I was not happy— sugar, chocolate, caffeine at 1!! My objections to the children drinking sweet milky tea at an early age were also met with rolling eyeballs and loud sighs. “After all,” my husband said, "I started drinking sweet milky tea when I was 4 years old and I turned out OK .” This was no comfort to me.
I still blame my husband for Lucy’s sweet tooth.
I confess, though, that I had Lucy in mind when I made this brownie recipe. Everyone has a favorite brownie recipe if not two or three, and I thought I had the best until I discovered the one below. No one guesses correctly that cherries are the fruit in these brownies but everyone has at least two of them and sometimes three. They are rich, crumbly and gooey, and the chocolate, pecan, and cherry combination is spectacular!
This adapted recipe from David Lebovitz is from his amazing cookbook 'Ready for Dessert'. Many people know him for his ice cream cookbooks and I’ll bet he has an ice cream recipe with chocolate, pecans and cherries somewhere.
Photo by: Lucy Alexander
adapted by David Lebovitz
6 tablespoons butter cut into pieces
8oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chopped
¾ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs at room temperature
¼ cup of all-purpose flour
1/3 cup dried tart cherries chopped
1 cup of toasted (350° for 7 minutes) pecans chopped
Preheat oven to 350°
This recipe takes just two small pans, so clean up is minimal, yay! One to melt the chocolate and make the batter, and one to cook the brownies in the oven.
First line the inside of a 9” square cake pan with a large sheet of parchment (hanging over the sides— to help facilitate the removal of the baked brownies from the pan). Grease the parchment paper where it will touch the batter with butter.
Toast pecans for about 6-8 minutes until fragrant and set aside to cool.
In a medium saucepan, melt butter then add chocolate. Stir over low heat until chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Remove from heat and stir sugar & vanilla into the melted chocolate. Now add the eggs one at a time and beat until combined. Next add the flour and whisk for about a minute until batter loses its graininess and stars to shine and to pull away from the sides of the pan. Stir in chopped nuts and fruit. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake pan, tilting slightly to level the batter. Bake until center feels almost set— about 35 minutes. Do not over bake. Let them rest in the pan for 5 minutes or so, lift them out using the extra parchment as handles and cool on a rack. Once they are cool using a sharp wet knife blade, gently cut the brownies.
After just one small taste test (because after smelling them for an hour, I can’t wait), leave them on a platter uncovered overnight and then they are perfect the next day… for breakfast with a cup of coffee. I can have chocolate for breakfast I am an adult!!! (see above).
Photo by: Lucy Alexander