Deep Dark Cherry Chipotle Brownies

Deep Dark Cherry Chipotle Brownies by The Messy Baker

Deep Dark Cherry Chipotle Brownies

Mother’s Day 2014

Deep Dark Cherry Chipotle Brownies from The Messy Baker.

Photo courtesy the amazingly talented Ryan Szulc.

When I think of chocolate it’s hard not to think of my mother. She made boozy chocolate torte so full of liqueur and whipped cream it was one generous jigger away from dissolving into a trifle. Her chocolate chip cookies had twice — maybe three times — as many chips as the dry store bought versions. In summer she dipped fresh-from-the-farm strawberries into melted chocolate and served them on the patio as an afternoon treat. When winter froze our toes, fingers and cheeks, she warmed us after our evening skate with hot chocolate. No cartoon bunny helped out in her kitchen. She drizzled homemade chocolate syrup into real milk and heated it on the stove top. She stirred gentle circles using a wooden spoon with “chocolate” written on the handle in black permanent marker. The smell of cocoa was so intoxicating it made you forget to hang up your snowsuit.

For a few traumatic years that scarred my childhood as well as the inside of my elbows, chocolate made me break out into a rash so severe I would scratch until I bled. Mom tried desperately to find an alternative. And when I refused carob in all its offensive incarnations again and again and again, she stopped faking it and made the most of the situation. Enticingly lumpy oatmeal raisin cookies scented with cinnamon replaced their chocolate chip counterparts. We celebrated my birthday with cherry-vanilla cake cut into any shape I wanted. At Easter, she turned my non-chocolate-coated candy eggs into a work of art with extra icing flowers and leaves. They were so beautiful the kids with chocolate-dipped eggs adorned with a single rosette felt jealous.

I eventually outgrew the sensitivity and lived long enough to discover our chocolate cabal got overturned by brownies. I love mine dark and moist and loaded with nuts. Hazelnuts and almonds are fine, but walnuts are my brownie choice. Their bitter edge stands up to the chocolate. Mom, who would arm wrestle me for the last Ferrero Rocher if she didn’t think her arthritis would handicap her chances, doesn’t like nuts in her brownies. She likes hers plain and on the milk chocolate side. She doesn’t see the point in extra chocolate chips and thinks marshmallows scattered throughout the batter are just graham-less s’mores. But to her, nuts in brownies aren’t just unappealing, they bordered on an atrocity. Are we really related?

“Well, that’s just because you haven’t had my brownies,” I’d said with naive confidence, thrusting a near-ebony, walnut-studded brownie into her hand. Sharing was a huge sacrifice on my part. But her education was worth it. She was so lucky to have a daughter like me.

“Just try one bite.” I used the same tone as she used when trying to persuade me to eat peas. I had as much luck. Nuts in brownies were her carob.

But I learned from the best. Some battles aren’t worth waging. We could find a deliciously peaceful solution. To this end, I created a brownie with bits of dried tart cherries, reminiscent of the Black Forest Torte she made for special occasions. Inspired by the movie Chocolat, I added hint of chili because she loved the movie and is an adventurous cook.

I made. I baked. I crossed my fingers.

She liked them. “I want a copy of the recipe,” she said eating a second brownie.

Mom, it’s in the book. On the cover, in fact. Seems others liked them too.

I’m sharing this recipe on Mother’s Day because my mother not only taught me how to bake, she demonstrated how to adapt to circumstances and proved time and again the power of compromise. These brownies are deliciously tangible proof. I’m lucky to have a mother like her.

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Deep Dark Cherry Chipotle Brownies

Deep Dark Cherry Chipotle Brownies by The Messy Baker

I first learned about the chocolate-chile combination when I saw the movie Chocolat. I was so intrigued that I raced home to make a cup of chile-laced hot chocolate just to test the theory. No matter that I’d attended the late show. Curiosity won out over sleep. I’ve been playing with variations of this duo ever since. A rich, chewy brownie seemed the perfect platform. The tartness of the cherries plays against the smoky warmth of the chile, and it’s all wrapped up in a rich, deep dark chocolate brownie.

  • Author: Charmian Christie
  • Prep Time: 20 mins
  • Cook Time: 35 mins
  • Total Time: 55 mins
  • Yield: 20 squares 1x
  • Category: Dessert

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
  • 1⁄3 cup milk
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 3⁄4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3⁄4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground chipotle chile pepper (1⁄2 teaspoon if you want only a hint of heat)
  • 1⁄4 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 
1 cup granulated sugar
  • 
1⁄2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 cup chopped dried cherries
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 
2 large eggs, at room temperature

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9″ x 9″ baking pan with an extra-long piece of foil that hangs over opposite edges. Spray with cooking spray.
  2. In a medium bowl, melt the chocolate, milk, and butter together gently. You can do this in the microwave oven on medium power in 60-second bursts, stirring in between. Alternatively, you can place the chocolate, milk, and butter in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water and stir gently until all ingredients are dissolved.
  3. Into a large bowl, sift the flour, cocoa, and baking powder. Add the chile pepper, salt, granulated sugar, and brown sugar and stir until well blended. Add the cherries and toss to coat with the flour mixture. This way they won’t sink to the bottom while baking.
  4. Whisk the vanilla into the eggs. Add the egg mixture to the melted chocolate mixture and stir to combine. Pour the chocolate mixture into the flour mixture and stir to combine. Pour the batter into the pan, pushing the batter to the edges.
  5. Bake for 35 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted halfway between the side and the center comes out clean. Allow the brownies to cool on a rack before removing from the pan using the foil overhang. Do not turn the brownies out upside down. They will not survive being uprighted. Instead, leave the brownies in the foil and cut them into squares as needed. Leaving the pan of brownies intact as long as you can helps keep them moist. Serve with vanilla bean ice cream or a dollop of crème fraîche or with nothing else at all.
  6. To store, just wrap the foil around the brownies and store in an airtight container or a resealable plastic bag with the air squeezed out.

Notes

This recipe is excerpted from [url href=”http://themessybaker.com/the-messy-baker-buy-now/” title=”Buy Now!”]The Messy Baker: More than 75 Delicious Recipes from a Real Kitchen[[/url] by Charmian Christie. Published by Rodale and HarperCollins Canada .

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12 Comments
  • Doreen Pendgracs
    Posted at 12:27h, 12 May

    Congrats on the new book, Charmian. LOVE the cover! You know you can always catch my eye with chocolate!

    These brownies look divine. I will definitely have to make them, as I love a little heat with my chocolate – not a lot of heat, as I don’t like it to overpower the chocolate, just enhance it.

    But I’m with you. I love the flavour of nuts and chocolate together. Having just ret’d from Hawaii with a large supply of Hawaiian chocolate and macadamia nuts in tow, I’ve got to say that’s a match made in heaven.

  • Charmian Christie
    Posted at 12:35h, 12 May

    Oh, I bet that Hawaiian trip was amazing. I love macadamia nuts but can’t be trusted around them. What are you going to make with them? The possibilities seem endless.

    Thanks for your kind and encouraging words. If you do try the brownies, I’d love to hear how they turned out!

  • Maggie
    Posted at 08:26h, 13 May

    The first time I ever heard of putting hot peppers in brownies was a long time ago on a PBS cooking show called the Frugal Gourmet. It sounded weird enough that I had to try them and they were delicious. Adults loved them and kids didn’t – more for the adults.

  • Charmian Christie
    Posted at 22:00h, 13 May

    I remember the Frugal Gourmet! If memory serves, Jeff Smith died about 10 years ago. If he was combining chocolate with chilis back then, he was very cutting edge at the time. I’m so glad you were adventurous and tried this combination.

    I can understand why kids wouldn’t like hot pepper in brownies, but as you say — “more for the adults.” Thanks for sharing!

  • Pepper Culpepper
    Posted at 16:58h, 16 May

    Hey there Charmian! I don’t know if you remember me but I did an article for the October Breast Cancer Awareness issue where I featured your Pink Angels recipe. I mentioned to you that I’d be starting my own food blog eventually and you asked me to drop you a note when I did. It’s been a couple years, but I’ve finally got a great blog called Primal Zen. Shoot me an e-mail and I will give you further details. (You mentioned helping me get the word out about my new blog!) Thanks Charmian,
    Heather (Pepper) Culpepper

  • Pepper Culpepper
    Posted at 16:59h, 16 May

    PS> These Brownies look super amazing! Keep up the good work!

  • Charmian Christie
    Posted at 09:04h, 17 May

    Of course I remember you. Congratulations on your new website! It takes an amazing amount of work to get one up and running. You should be thrilled.

    I’ll contact you soon. All the best with your new venture.

  • Charmian Christie
    Posted at 09:05h, 17 May

    Thanks! They are pretty delicious, if I do say so myself! I only make them if company is coming because I can’t trust myself around them. 🙂

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