These brownies were a delicious disaster.  The problem... you could taste the cherries.  I couldn't even find them in the brownies.  Maybe it's because they're weren't enough in the recipe.  Maybe it's because they were home canned and therefor a little too squishy.  Maybe because I chopped them too small.  I think that one I might have chewed one but I'm not even sure.  So from the let's-get-all-experimental-by-using-canned-cherries-and-be-super-cool it was a grand failure.  Going by taste alone you would never know that these brownies contained cherries.


Going by taste alone though you would never classify these a failure because they were freaking delicious.  Five words:  YOU   MUST   MAKE   THIS   ICING.  There I said it.  I hate it when food bloggers do this.  'You gotta do X'.  'These are the awesomest thing ever'.  'You haven't lived until you've done x'.  'If you don't make these now you'r life is essentially void and without true meaning'.... whatever.  B.S. I say.  But this icing is amahzing.  Truly.  The icing made the brownies exceptional for me.
The brownies were made for a close family member who is not well at the moment.  He's just had surgery and is recuperating but having to deal with ongoing treatment (yup, it's that kind of thing) and with his life basically changing drastically and permanently.  He needs cheering up and he requested something sweet and homemade - which I happily made for him and then left them in the able hands of his nurse, my mother-in-law, to be doled out as she sees fit.  I had to oblige.  It's what I do.  True confession:  I kept some for myself.  It was a big pan and so I halved it.  Next true confession:  I'm contemplating making them again.


It's been 'Wanda Doing Acts of Cooking Kindness' lately and I'm feeling pretty damn good about myself just now.  I took some bread to KT and G for them to munch on whilst staying up all night with their foster newborn 'male-child'.  Brownies are off to my step-father-in-laws belly to lift his spirits.  I'm going to be making some food for my colleague and friend who just lost her father to cancer last weekend (she would have some stuff now but they're out of town for the funeral).
It's something that we've gotten out of the habit of doing and it's important.  Bringing something homespun or homemade to people who need it, when they need it.  It tells them that they are important. It tells them that eating is something that needs to be a priority even when it's not something you have the energy or desire to do.  It reminds them that eating can be an almost sacred part of our humanity and what connects us all.  We all eat.  It's nourishing.  It's community.  It's life.
You don't actually have to cook something for someone though if it's not your thing.  Make them a card.  This week I made a bristol board poster for my colleague.  All the boys at the school are signing it so that when she gets back she can read their prayers for her and her family.  The poster sucked.  I'm not a DIY kind of person but it felt good to do it and when I read what some of those boys wrote for her even  I was touched.  Whatever you can do will be so valuable and appreciated.  It's important and it's a good thing to do and it makes you feel just as special as the person receiving the stuff.  So definitely go ahead and make the icing - you'll thank me - but also think about doing something for somebody else too - you'll feel even better.


Cherry Brownies adapted from Cosmic Kitchen
makes 1 9x13 pan

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup dark cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp espresso powder (optional)
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar (not packed)
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 tbsp water
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup coarsely chopped cherries (I used home canned)

Ganache Icing

1/2 cup heavy cream
pinch of salt
3 tbsp unsalted butter
7 oz dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids or higher), coarsely chopped


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan (or use parchment or foil) and set aside.
Mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, espresso powder and salt together in a bowl and set aside.
In another bowl combine the sugar, brown sugar, melted butter and water.  Whisk until combined and kind of getting a little frothy.  Add in the eggs and whisk until a little more frothy.  Add the vanilla and whisk until combined thoroughly.
Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture.  Mix until the dry ingredients are thoroughly incorporated.  Add the cherries and stir just until mixed.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 18 minutes (I turned my pan around half way through baking).  A cake tester may come out with some slightly wet crumbs on it but that's ok.  Let it cool.
Ganache:
In a double boiler add the cream and heat until little bubbles are forming on the side of the bowl.  Add the pinch of salt and stir together for a few minutes.  Using a wooden spoon or silicon whisk add the chocolate and butter and stir until the chocolate is completely melted and spreadable.
Pour over the mostly cooled brownies and spread evenly.
Feel free to add sprinkles.
Cut into squares once the ganache has cooled completely.