Gluten-Free Cherry Brownie Bites

Yield: 48 Brownie Bites

Ingredients

Brownies

1 (10 ounce) jar maraschino cherries, drained, reserving 5 tablespoons of the syrup
8 ounces good quality bittersweet chocolate chips
1 cup unsalted butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup granulated sugar,
3 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups ground almonds
14 teaspoon kosher or fine sea salt
Cherry Chocolate Ganache or 1 cup whipped cream lightly sweetened with a tablespoon or two of reserved cherry syrup
48 maraschino cherries for decoration, drained and patted dry

Cherry Chocolate Ganache

4 ounces good quality semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons reserved cherry syrup

Instructions

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Insert paper liners in 48 mini muffin cups.

Brownies

Pat the cherries dry and chop them roughly. Set aside.
Melt the chocolate chips and butter in a heat proof bowl in the microwave for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes, stirring once or twice until the butter is fully melted and the chips are almost all melted. Stir until all the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth and glossy. Stir in the vanilla extract, 2 tablespoons of the reserved maraschino cherry syrup and the sugar. Let cool slightly. Beat in the eggs, ground almonds, salt and chopped cherries. Divide batter between the prepared muffin tins filling the tins almost full. A small ice cream scoop helps with this.
Bake for 10 to 14 minutes or until the tops are set and feel firmish to the touch but the insides are still soft. Do not over bake. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes then turn out to a wire rack to finish cooling.
If using chocolate ganache, spoon some ganache on top of the brownies, top each with a maraschino cherry and refrigerate for at least half an hour to firm the ganache. Can be made a day ahead. If topping with cream, pipe or dollop on the whipped cream just before serving and top each brownie with a cherry.

Chocolate Cherry Ganache

Pour chocolate chips into a small heatproof bowl. Heat the cream and cherry syrup in a small pan over medium high heat until it just comes to a boil. Pour the hot milk mixture over the chocolate chips and let set for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth and glossy. Let set for about 10 to 15 minutes then spoon over the brownies.

Notes

These brownies can be baked in an 8 inch square pan if you prefer; just increase the cooking time to about 25 minutes. The top should be set but still a little squiggly inside. They will firm up as they cool.

Attribution

Recipe and photo used with permission from: National Cherry Growers
Recipe developed by Carol Kicinski.