Black Forest Brownies

Total Time: 1 hr 20 mins Preparation Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 35 mins

Ingredients

• 2 (10 ounce) jars maraschino cherries, with stems
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate piece
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
• 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 2/3 cup powdered sugar

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 350°; grease a 13 x 9 inch baking pan; set aside.
• 2 drain one jar of cherries; remove stems and coarsely chop cherries.
• 3 drain on paper towels; reserve remaining jar of whole cherries for garnish.
• 4 in a large microwave-safe bowl, combine semisweet chocolate pieces and butter; microwave on high for 1 minutes; stir.
• 5 microwave for 10-20 seconds more or until mixture is melted.
• 6 add eggs, sugar, flour, vanilla, salt, and baking powder; stir until combined.
• 7 fold in chopped cherries, baking pieces, and almonds.
• 8 pour batter into prepared pan, spreading evenly.
• 9 bake for 35 minutes; cool in pan on a wire rack; cut into bars.
• 10 before serving, in a bowl, combine cream cheese and powdered sugar.
• 11 beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.
• 12 pipe or spoon a small amount of cream cheese mixture onto each brownie.
• 13 drain reserved cherries; top each brownie with a cherry.