Last night Fuzz and I were going through some old holiday books and this recipe caught my eye. It’s from Christmas with Southern Living 2003, and what I liked about it (aside from the bourbon-cherry-chocolate combo) was that it was made in mini muffin tins. Remember how I said I was going to start using those more often? I also liked the ingredient list because I had everything.
I whipped up half a batch of these this morning. As I expected, they were rather light. I beat a lot of air into the egg/sugar mixture and the baking powder helped too. The light brownie batter is a nice contrast to the richer chips, nuts and dried cherries, so make sure you add all the “add-ins”. If you over-bake them, there’s a chance these could come out dry.
One last thing. The bourbon flavor wasn’t very strong at all, but my sense of smell is a little off today so maybe that’s not really an issue. But if you really like the flavor of bourbon, wait until the brownies cool and then brush the tops with it. Let it sink in, then sprinkle on the powdered sugar.
Chocolate Cherry Brownie Bites
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted
2 teaspoons bourbon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup toasted pecans, chopped
1/3 cup dried cherries, chopped
1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate mini morsels
Powdered sugar (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 36 mini muffin cups with mini liners or just spray the cups with baking spray.
Combine flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
Beat the eggs with a hand held electric mixer until fluffy. Gradually add the sugar, beating on high until slightly thickened. Beat in the oil hen stir in the melted chocolate, bourbon and vanilla.
By hand gradually stir in the flour mixture, followed by the toasted pecans, cherries and chocolate chips.
Divide evenly among muffin cups and bake for 12 minutes. Let cool in pan set on a rack for 15 minutes. Dust cooled cups with powdered sugar if desired.
Makes about 36
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
What a fun recipe! I’ve yet to try the chocolate and dried cherry combo in anything, but I think its something I would like a lot. The bourbon probably not so much, but maybe a little extra vanilla instead.
Also not sure about the bourbon – I was thinking espresso powder, like in Baking Bite’s cocoa cookie cups.
If you don’t like bourbon and aren’t planning to brush it over the top, you might as well leave it out. It didn’t really add much. Love the espresso powder idea!
Great little bites! I, for one, wouldn’t mind the bourbon. :0
I do love cherries with chocolate….