Brownies with Cherries

Gooey version in front, pretty one in back

One recipe - two techniques! 

One is presentable the other a bit ugly, but they both are oh, so good! The brownie is a pretty basic cocoa-based brownie recipe and it is dense and moist, but still fluffy enough and with a very slightly chewy crispy top. 

Basic (perfect) brownie

Most recipes use all regular sugar and add vanilla in the wet ingredients.  I am trying to make a recipe that is as easy as possible to make from a dry mix and having to add three ingredients seems like too many. To counter the loss of the vanilla, I used half brown sugar which adds a lovely molasses flavor and also makes it moister. If you use all brown sugar, the top layer won't get that slightly different texture that I really want from a brownie (if all you have is one or the other, you will still end up with a delicious treat!) I'm also toying with the idea of using shortening in the mix so that egg is the only wet ingredient, but wonder about how that will affect the shelf-stability, so for now am sticking with this. 

One batch (8x8 or 9x9 pan)

Dry:

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup flour (I used whole wheat, but any will do)

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Wet:

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

Topping:

1 cup cherry pie filling, optional

Mix all of the dry ingredients together. Add the wet ingredients. Bake in 350*oven for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick in the middle comes out with only a few crumbs.

Top with cherry topping. 

That was the pretty version - for an ooey, gooey, doesn't come out of the pan easily treat just switch up the recipe a little! Put the pie filling in the bottom of the pan, use one egg instead of two and add 2 tablespoons of water then pour the batter on top of the cherries. 

Make ahead mix:

This is also super to keep in the pantry for a quick dessert. Below is for 4 batches, but you can do as many as you would like! When you're ready to bake, just measure 2 cups of dry mix to make one batch or adjust to whatever size you feel like eating! Ex: 1 cup mix, 1 egg, 1/4 cup oil for a few muffins or 3 cups mix, 3 eggs, 3/4 cup oil for a 9x13 pan

Dry:

2 cup packed brown sugar

2 cup granulated sugar

2 cup flour (I used whole wheat, but any will do)

2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder