Double Chocolate Fresh Cherry Brownies

Continuing on the fresh cherry theme, here's a brownie recipe for fresh cherries. Most recipes call for dried cherries, and they would be fabulous in almost any brownie recipe, but since I have fresh cherries, I wanted to use them. You'll want to play around with this recipe until you have what you like. I added more chopped chocolate because I like chocolate. Big surprise? But you don't need to do that.

Double Chocolate Fresh Cherry Brownies
3.5 oz dark chocolate (I used Valhrohona 71% cacao), chopped (for the batter)
1/2 cup sweet butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp Madagascar vanilla
dash of salt
1/2 cup all-purposed flour
about a cup of fresh cherries (pitted)
about a 1/3-1/2 cup dark chocolate chopped (to be added as chips)

Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8 x 8 pan (or whatever you use for brownies.. note this is not a double recipe)
2. Melt the chocolate and butter together in a double boiler or saucepan over saucepan with simmering water.
3. In a bowl, mix together the melted chocolate/butter with the sugar. Add a pinch of salt, eggs and vanilla. Add flour and mix. Fold in Cherries and chopped chocolate.
4. Pour the brownie batter into greased pan and bake for 25-30 min.

Life is just a Bowl of Chocolate Covered Cherries

I had a flat of strawberries, so last night I made Chocolate Covered Strawberries. They were delicious. Because I had a few cherries left over from my Chocolate Cherry Pancakes, I decided to dip a few of those, too. This time I used Valrhona Noir 71% cacao (dark bittersweet) chocolate. Since the cherries had stems, this worked perfectly. Guess I'll be making more of these this weekend.

Life is just a Bowl of Chocolate Covered Cherries!

One caveat: I did not pit the cherries. You might want to warn people.

Easy Chocolate Covered Cherries

7 oz dark chocolate (I used Valhrona 71%) chopped
1/2 lb .. about 30 large fresh cherries with stems

Line a baking sheet or plate with waxed paper.
Place chocolate in top of double boiler or a saucepan over another saucepan with simmering water.
Stir chocolate until melted and smooth. Remove chocolate from heat.
Holding cherry by the stem, dip 1 cherry halfway into the chocolate, swirl so about 3/4 of cherry is covered, then place on the cookie sheet chocolate side down.
Repeat with the remaining cherries and chocolate.
Chill cherries (on sheet or plate) in refrigerator until the chocolate is firm-at least 15 minutes.
Refrigerate longer if you don't plan to eat them right away.

How easy is this? Perfect for a Memorial Day Barbecue.

Cherries, cherries everywhere: Chocolate Cherry Pancakes

California is filled with cherries this time of year, and the crop seems to get sweeter each day, if that's possible. This is the perfect time to make Chocolate Cherry Pancakes.

One of my favorite recipes for Chocolate Cherry Pancakes is found on one of my favorite blogs: Macheesmo (Cook something), and last year Nick had a super Recipe for Chocolate Cherry Pancakes. He developed the recipe based on his love of Cherry Garcia ice-cream. I share his passion for Cherry Garcia ice-cream.. and for Jerry, too. How many concerts did I attend? More than you probably need to know.

Chocolate Cherry Pancakes are a great way to start the weekend. All you just have to do is follow Nick's instructions for this beautiful and delicious breakfast treat. I use dark chocolate, of course, and I'm so thankful for his clear directions, notes and photos. Here's the link again. I like breakfast for dinner, so give 'em a try then, too!

I mentioned the other day that I'm into Mixes in a Jar (Fabulous Chocolate Brownies in a Jar), so here's a recipe for Chocolate Cherry Pancakes in a Jar. This recipe calls for dried cherries, and you can do that if you're giving this as a gift (it will look pretty), but you can also omit the dried cherries and write "add fresh quartered cherries" to your instruction label.

Chocolate Cherry Pancakes in a Jar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup dried cherries
2/3 cup dark chocolate, broken into pieces

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Put flour mixture into a 1-quart jar. Add cherries, then add chocolate. Seal Jar. Add some fabric and/or rafia and attach tag with instructions--or you can make your own personalized instruction label. That's what I do.

Chocolate Cherry Pancakes 
Makes 25 pancakes
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup sweet butter, melted
Contents of Jar of "Chocolate Cherry Pancakes"
1 1/2 to 2 cups whole milk

Mix eggs and melted butter in large bowl. Add contents of jar. Stir until well blended. Add 1-1/2 cups milk. Stir until dry ingredients are moistened.

Heat griddle or skillet. Pour batter onto hot griddle 1/4 cup at a time. Cook pancakes until golden on both sides.

Double Chocolate Cherry Cookies

So last weekend I bought lots cherries at a farmstand in Sonoma County. I wasn't sure what I would do with them, but I didn't have to think very long since they disappeared quickly. I intend to get more at the Farmer's Market this week, but in the meantime I'm planning on making these Double Chocolate Cherry Cookies. I always have dried cherries on hand (they keep very well in the refrigerator), and the following recipe is fabulous. What could be better than chocolate, cherries and wine! This is a recipe adapted from one I found on the Foodnetwork.com. It will be a huge hit at your Memorial Day BBQ or any time. As always, use the very best chocolate!

Double Chocolate Cherry Cookies
 
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup good quality dark cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick sweet butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon Madagascar vanilla extract
1/2 cup dry red wine, Zinfandel (I've used Cabernet and Merlot)
10 ounces dark chocolate (85% cacao--the best you can find), broken into chunks
1- 1/4 cup dried tart cherries (unsweetened are more tart but use what you have)

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

1. Combine flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda in a bowl.
2. In a bowl of an electric mixer, or with a handheld mixer, combine butter and sugars until fluffy.
3. Add egg, vanilla, and wine and combine.
4. Slowly in batches add the flour mixture until just combined.
5. Fold in the chocolate and cherries.
6. On a nonstick cookie sheet, place a heaping tablespoon of dough for each cookie about 2 inches apart from each other.
7. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until tops are still soft looking but edges look firm.
8. Let cool on sheet for 5-8 minutes.