Were We Discussing Brownies ??

My husband, Tom, is fruity drink drinker. A pina colada, tequila sunrise, strawberry margarita, if it's fruity, he'll love it. Add a couple maraschino cherries... all the better. He's been known to mix himself up a vodka and ginger ale, add about 6 maraschino cherries to the glass and pour about 1/4 cup of maraschino syrup into the drink for good measure. I will continue when I stop shuddering...

So, on to the brownies part of this post. For Father's Day, I wanted to make Tom something that I knew he would really like. I started rummaging through the cupboards and pantry for ingredients I had on hand, sort of as a catalyst for a creative idea, and I came across a pound of candied cherries. You know, the kind you use for fruit cake and Tom is the only person I know that LOVES fruitcake. I also had one box of brownie mix that I didn't use for our Memorial Day cookout. I thought, Cherries...Chocolate. Why not?

They turned out great and Tom loved them!

Chocolate Cherry Brownies
by Terri Powers for Terri's Table

1 box Duncan Hines Family Style Brownies, Chewy Fudge
2 eggs
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons cherry extract
1 - 1 pound container candied cherries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 13-inch X 9-inch baking pan by lightly coating with vegetable oil or spraying with cooking spray.

Cut half of the cherries in half and coarsely chop the other half. Put all of the cut up cherries in a small bowl and set aside.

Make brownies according to package directions to make "fudgy brownies," adding the cherry extract to the mixture.

Add the cherries to the prepared brownie batter and mix well. Pour into the prepared baking pan.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until done. Cool completely before cutting. Hint: Refrigerating the brownies until cold before cutting keeps them from crumbling.