Brownie Recipes for you to enjoy - part 1 - Cherry Espresso Doubly Fudgy Brownies

Well, I see "Bartlett Tastes the World" has pulled ahead in the title voting poll.  It's just a few more days until Bartlett and I will decide for certain which title he'll be spinning off from this blog.  If you still need to vote, please do, or if you have a suggestion for an even better title, type me a comment.

As I've promised to Carrie, I'm posting 2 separate recipes, which are based on the same initial, original Nestle Tollhouse brownie recipe of the bag of their semi-sweet morsels, which a lot of potential variations.  Below is Cherry Espresso Doubly Fudgy Brownies:

CHERRY ESPRESSO DOUBLY FUDGY BROWNIES (MK 6-25-08)

This is a VERY forgiving, highly-adaptable recipe.  The original version is the standard one you get on the back of Nestle chocolate morsels.  Highlighted items are those changes I’ve made.  Have fun!

Amount	Ingredient
WHISK together, + set aside:
7.125 oz.  (1-1/2 cups)	AP flour
½ tsp	Baking soda
½ tsp	Salt
BRING these 3 ingredients below JUST to boil in saucepan, then remove from heat:
5.34 oz.  (2/3 cup)	Butter
10-1/2 oz.  (1-1/2 cups)	Sugar
¼ cup	Water
ADD to saucepan, and STIR in until smooth, then allow to COOL slightly:
12 oz   (2 cups)	Chocolate chip morsels
1 tsp	Vanilla
1 tsp	Cherry extract or orange extract, OR mint for that mint chocolate chip flavor we love in ice cream.  OR, even better, you can get away with adding up to ¼ cup of Kahlua, Grand Marnier, etc. – if you add more liquid fun, you may want to add a couple additional Tablespoons of flour
2 T	Coffee beans, finely ground on first setting (or more, if you’re looking for a caffeine bomb!)
ADD, 1 at a time, stirring after each addition:
4	Eggs
GRADUALLY blend in:	Above flour mixture – mix JUST to combine – don’t overmix or you risk developing glutens from the flour, giving you more of a bread texture, and not the FUDGY one we love in brownies!
PLEASE NOTE:	This is where the original recipe ended, and where YOUR fun begins.  These are mere suggestion, because the base brownies are still very good without additions.  You can add any variety of chopped, dried fruits, other chip morsels, like white, butterscotch, or milk chocolate.
STIR in:
3 oz.	Dried cherries, chopped fine (or another dried fruit, if desired
4 oz	Chocolate chip morsels
4 oz	Cocoa nibs (OR nuts, for those who enjoy them in brownies – I do not)

PREP:  Spread in sprayed foil or parchment-lined 9” x 13” pan.   Add miniature marshmallows, if desired.  I typically use 5 rows of 7 each, so 35 total.  I space them out so that you get one in each small square you serve, approx. 1-1/2” square.   

BAKING:  325° – 30 minutes, until still slightly gooey (or longer, if you like your brownies more firm).  Remove from oven.

COOLING:  Remove from pan by lifting brownies out using the foil or parchment you lined the pan with, onto rack to cool slightly, or until you can’t WAIT any longer to have a bite!

YIELD:  ~ 3# = 20 squares – ~2” x 2” 

If you have a difficult time reading the above (or the following post, for Kahlua Fudge Cream Cheese Brownies), contact me and I'll email those directly to you.  

Until then, enjoy.  It's a great day to bake brownies (always)!