by all measures

May 28 2010 by Kristin at The Kitchen Sink in Uncategorized » 21 comments

The thing is, I’ve always been this way. I’ve always loved precision, order, neatness, exactitude. I’m a sucker for a system. As a child, I created elaborate filing systems in the make-shift school house and office I set up in the basement, the settings of all my best play dates. My bookshelves are—and have always been—ordered to ensure that the spines of the books line up from tallest to shortest. At an alarmingly young age, I cheerfully volunteered to balance my mother’s checkbook, draw up her grocery lists and clip her coupons, neatly (of course). To this day, the clothes in my closet are grouped by hue, each garment hung on the same type of hanger.

All of this is to say that, by all measures, I should have detested these brownies.

Not the making them. That part was lovely and goes like this: arrive home from work on Friday evening; proceed directly to the liquor cabinet, from which you will extract a bottle of bourbon; take a good amount of dried cherries and douse them with the bourbon; set the cherries aside and carry on with your Friday night (which may or may not involve said bourbon). On Saturday, melt chocolate, butter and sugar in a double boiler, reveling in the decadence. Into this, once its cooled, you’ll beat in five eggs, one at a time, each giving the chocolate mixture more body than the last. Once you’ve achieved a mixture that looks almost satiny, draw a spoon up through it and watch the chocolate fall back against itself in ribbons. (This step, of course, is optional. But you should know that it’s also highly recommended.) Next, whisk together a small amount of whole wheat pastry flour, along with some other dry ingredients—and then slowly and gently stir the whisked dry mixture into that bowl of satiny chocolate. It may appear a bit stiff, but fear not: sour cream will save the day—fold it in, striping the chocolate with thick white swirls.

After that, it’s back to the by-now-intoxicated cherries. You’ll note that the cherries have swelled and plumped; after a night of slurping bourbon, can you blame them? Fold these beauties, along with any remaining bourbon (my cherries were greedy and no leftover bourbon could be found), and some dark chocolate chips into the batter, which you will then tip into a buttered-and-lined pan.

While they bake, observe the drunken fragrance of your kitchen and delight in the fact that these brownies will surely be the hit of your Saturday night barbecue. And, well, they better be. You’ve talked a big game about them, boasting about Bourbon-Soaked Cherry Brownies at every chance you got. Sure, you’ve never made the recipe, but it was love at first sight. You send the recipe’s link the the barbecue’s hostess, who clicks over to the recipe and responds at once: “I am strongly in agreement with your choice.”

It’s all hunky-dory to this point, right? And perhaps, by now, you’re wondering what on earth all that O.C.D. nostalgia had to with boozy brownies—and I’m getting to that. The connection became evident when, after allowing the brownies to fully cool, I attempted to slice them into pretty, perfect squares. “Pretty” and “perfect,” however, were not to be. Instead, the brownies buckled under my knife. Where blade met drunken cherry, things when terribly awry. After employing many knives and strategies, I threw my hands up and deciding, instead, to sample the mess.

And, wow. My sampling revealed a brownie that was deeply chocolately and rich and fudgy, some bits punctuated by the bite a chocolate chip, others softened by the chew of a cherry. And the bourbon-tinged cherry flavor had infused the whole, lending an almost haunting edge to a dessert that’s generally pretty straightforward. All thoughts of straight lines and even squares went out the window. I packed them up and brought them to the barbecue, where they were the subject of a great deal of adoration. No one minded the mess. (Not even me.)

The recipe for these Chocolate Cherry Brownies is from 101 Cookbooks and you’ll note that Heidi warns full well that the brownies are not easy to cut. Luckily, her warning was no match for the promise of fudgy brownies studded with boozy cherries. I hope you won’t be dissuaded either. I followed Heidi’s recipe, using a couple of her alternative suggestions: bourbon in place of port; a mix of regular white and brown sugar, in place of muscovado sugar; and sour cream in place of creme fraiche. I also used her tip to chill the brownies before slicing and, as big a fuss as I make in this post, I do think it helped. I suggest you do the same.

21 comments so far. »
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Andy says on May 28 2010 at 5:34 am:

Best. Brownies. Ever.
emily s says on May 28 2010 at 5:47 am:

I’m the same way – I like the brownies to look good AFTER they are out of the pan! Harder done than said… but it sounds like these brownies were worth it! Yum!
Jessica @ How Sweet says on May 28 2010 at 5:49 am:

I love dried cherries (…and bourbon..) so this recipe just might be my heaven.
kate says on May 28 2010 at 6:11 am:

Wow. That’s really all I can say to sum up what I see. And yeah…. delicious!!
Esther says on May 28 2010 at 6:33 am:

umm.. ditto comments numbers 1 and 4..
maggie says on May 28 2010 at 7:05 am:

hello, YUM!!! You had me at boozy cherries. I would be tempted to just eat the whole pan (uncut) with a spoon.
Maddie says on May 28 2010 at 8:09 am:

I feel your pain! My favorite family-recipe brownies always end up in globs, rather than slices…but that doesn’t stop anybody from taking seconds.

I love this variation on what is normally a very basic dessert…so luxurious!
Vanessa says on May 28 2010 at 8:25 am:

Any ideas on how to make these without the booze? I’m pregnant but still really want to enjoy this recipe. Any other soaking alternatives for the cherries?
heather @ chiknpastry says on May 28 2010 at 10:09 am:

at first you sounded like my Hubs with your need for a system, but then you started sounding like me with your clothes arranged by hue. but if you look on the floor of my closet, the shoes are all in disarray, so theres really no good system after all .

i saw these brownies on her site too; i gotta say, they do look superb – mess and all!
Tracey says on May 28 2010 at 6:41 pm:

Oh I feel your pain Kristin – I generally hate when I can’t cut my brownies into perfect little squares. Sounds like these were amazing enough to help you overlook that issue though!
Dana says on May 29 2010 at 8:19 am:

A brownie with drunken cherries in it? Sign me up!
shannon abdollmohammadi says on May 29 2010 at 7:41 pm:

I too love a system…the brownies look soo delicious. Plus the fruit is a great idea!!!
Shaheen says on May 30 2010 at 9:43 am:

Your brownies look so delicious. I’m a quiet reader, catching up on your posts through my google reader. These gorgeous brownies made me come over to tell you just how awesome they look. I am not a fan of alcohol in my food – the most I can use it in is my extract. Do you think I can soak them in something else, and yet have them to be quite flavourful?
Kristi@Ja Cie Kocham says on May 30 2010 at 12:22 pm:

Chocolate and Cherries are heaven in a dessert. These look simply divine!
Barbara says on May 31 2010 at 11:06 am:

Oh my goodness. You ARE organized!! I am not.
But I did just make a recipe with cherries and yes, they are hard to cut. A hot, sharp knife is the answer. But still, the taste is what counts. We foodies just like pretty photos too!
Maggie says on May 31 2010 at 2:53 pm:

I love that I got quoted! These were truly the most delicious brownies (yes, I had several) I have ever eaten.
amanda says on May 31 2010 at 5:59 pm:

I love any brownie recipe that starts, “proceed directly to the liquor cabinet” ! Gorgeous, as always! Can’t wait to try.
Kristin at The Kitchen Sink says on May 31 2010 at 6:50 pm:

Thanks, everyone!

Andy: You lived up to your word! So glad you liked them.

Vanessa and Shaheen: I think you could soak the cherries in hot coffee or even some hot water. If you go with water, I might add a bit of extract (almond, which is great with cherries, or vanilla) to the batter.

Maggie: Sounds like we left the leftovers in good hands. : )
Sues says on May 31 2010 at 7:45 pm:

Oh my goodness. What is better than the chocolate and cherry combination?? NOTHING! These look amazing
Whitney says on June 03 2010 at 9:42 am:

I think they look even more delicious because they don’t look perfect.

I need to make these. Quite soon.
Ashley says on June 08 2010 at 8:01 am:

These look amazing! Fudgey and crackly topped. And some things, like these brownies, look better when they’re not perfect squares!