Cherry Chocolate Brownies
These fudgy Triple Chocolate Cherry Brownies are deeply chocolatey and studded with whatever sweet cherries you’ve got around. They’re super easy to make and perfect for a warm brownie sundae or guiltily nibbled on directly from your freezer stash.
So read on for all the detailed tips and tricks for making chocolate brownies with cherries. Or grab your chocolate, hit that purple Jump to Recipe button, and let’s make cherry and chocolate brownies!
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Ingredients
Even with a smidge of baking powder, these brownies lean toward the fudgy and not cakey side of brownies. They get that from melting chocolate with butter, sparse flour, and eggs beaten with sugar.
However these cherry brownies are all about the chocolate. You’ve come to the wrong place if you’re looking for cherry cookie bars in a blondie base, – you want these cherry blondies!
To make these triple chocolate cherry brownies, I use three forms of chocolate – melted bar chocolate for the fudgy texture, unsweetened cocoa powder, and chocolate chips to give you concentrated warm puddles of chocolate in the baked brownies. I always recommend using the best chocolate you can afford, and my go-to’s are Ghirardelli, Callebaut, or Scharffen Berger.
The only unusual ingredient is Cherry Heering, a cherry liqueur made in Copenhagen for over 200 years. I use it in my Cherry Bakewell cocktail, but you can substitute more vanilla if you don’t have a bottle in your liquor cabinet.
The best part of these cherry brownies (aside from all the chocolate!) is that you can use fresh cherries in summer or frozen cherries all year long. I’ve also made them with Bing cherries in syrup and maraschino cherries too!
Want more cherry recipes? Check out this Rainier cherry crisp, cherry vinaigrette, or cherry ketchup.
Please see the recipe card below for complete information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations and substitutions
- Swirl cherry jam into a cheesecake topping like my blackberry cheesecake brownies.
Recipe tips and tricks
I prefer to make brownies using a hand mixer because I think it’s easier to mix in the melted chocolate and butter, but you can use a stand mixer if you prefer. It’s a pretty thin batter, and you could even do by hand if you have the arm strength to whip up the eggs and sugar!
Start by heating your oven and preparing your 8 or 9 inch square pan. Both work, but the 8 inch square pan will give you slightly thicker cherry brownies. Grease the pan or line it with parchment and butter that lightly if you want to lift the brownies out before cutting.
Beat the eggs and sugar together for a few minutes until light in color, then add the vanilla, cherry liqueur, and melted chocolate and butter.
Add the dry ingredients and then mix in the cherry halves and chocolate chips. If using frozen or extra juicy cherries, let them drain and pat them dry to keep the brownies from getting soggy. And don’t chop them too small, or they’ll disappear into your brownies!
Bake them about 28 to 31 minutes, until a tester is not quite clean. You’ll get cleaner edges if you let your cherry brownies cool completely before slicing, but I won’t judge you if you can’t wait!
Recipe FAQs
Absolutely. Let them cool completely, then freeze in a container or freezer bag for a few months.
Yup. For brownies a la Black Forest cake, all that’s missing is the whipped cream!
Related cookie bar recipes
Check out other cookie bars and brownies (and brownie crinkle cookies!) from the archives, like:
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-heart 💜💜💜💜💜 rating in the recipe card below. Let me know how much you loved it, or any problems you had, in the comments section further down.
Recipe
Cherry Chocolate Brownies
Equipment
- 1 8 or 9 inch square baking pan
- parchment paper optional
Ingredients
- 5 ounces (142 grams) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate I recommend Ghirardelli chocolate
- 4 ounces (1 stick, 113 grams) unsalted butter plus more for greasing the lined baking pan
- 1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup (20 grams) cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1¼ cup (250 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon Cherry Heering or other cherry liqueur see note
- ½ cup chocolate chips bittersweet or semisweet
- ½ cup cherries fresh or frozen, sliced in half
Instructions
- Heat your oven to 350℉.
- Coarsely chop the chocolate and butter and melt them together in a double boiler or your microwave. Once nearly melted, remove the bowl and stir to combine. Set aside briefly to cool.5 ounces (142 grams) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, 4 ounces (1 stick, 113 grams) unsalted butter
- Butter an 8 or 9 inch square baking pan or line it with parchment, then lightly butter the parchment. Set aside.
- Whisk the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt) together in a small bowl.1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour, ¼ cup (20 grams) cocoa powder, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Combine the sugar and eggs in the bowl of your stand mixer (or in a large mixing bowl if using a hand mixer or beating by hand). Beat on medium speed until lightened, about 2 to 3 minutes.1¼ cup (250 grams) granulated sugar, 2 large eggs
- Add the vanilla extract and cherry liqueur, if using, and beat another minute.1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon Cherry Heering or other cherry liqueur
- Slowly beat in the melted chocolate and butter. Then add the dry ingredients and mix on low.
- Stir in the sliced cherry and chocolate chips by hand, then turn the brownie batter out into your prepared pan. Use a spatula to get the brownie batter into the edges and corners of the baking pan, but don't worry about making it perfectly smooth.½ cup chocolate chips, ½ cup cherries
- Bake the cherry brownies for 28 to 31 minutes until the top is slightly firm and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out almost clean.
- When the brownies are done, remove the pan from the oven and put the pan of brownies on a cooling rack.
- Let the brownies cool in the pan. Once the pan is no longer hot to touch, you can chill the pan in the fridge or freezer until ready to serve.
- To cut, lift the brownies out of the pan and peel away the parchment paper. Cut the brownies into 16 equal squares.
Notes
Nutrition
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These brownies are sooooo good!
Jennifer – so glad you liked these cherry brownies!