Chocolate Cherry Brownies with Ruby Port Ganache

These elegant but "easy-to-make" chocolate cherry brownies will have everyone asking you for the recipe. Plus, they are an excellent vehicle for satisfying your chocolate cravings. 

If you'd like to serve a dessert that jusr about anyone loves that has been zhuzhed up for your next dinner party, these brownies are the answer. They kind of look rustic too... but the flavor! It's such a surprise. 

Graveyard Brownies

These graveyard brownies are super fun to make and even more fun to serve. Share them for a kids' party, your book club, or even after dinner with friends. 

I had so much fun shopping for and playing around with different ingredients and ideas for putting these brownies together. For once, I was happy to see that stores had their Halloween sections set up even though it was still September! 

Peanut Butter Chip Brownies

These brownies may look like standard chocolate chip brownies, but there's a surprise inside, peanut butter chips along with the chocolate chips. 

 

These peanut butter chip brownies are super moist and fudgy. Pack these into a lunchbox (yours or someone else's) for a sweet treat in the middle of the day. These brownies are perfect for both kids and grown-ups alike. Who doesn't love chocolate and peanut butter?

Peppermint Patty Brownie Bites

These Peppermint Patty Brownie Bites, stuffed with York Peppermint Patties, are such a fun treat!

Peppermint Patties are on my short list of favorite candies. After all, chocolate and mint are pretty much a perfect pairing. 

Sourdough Chocolate Brownies

 These sourdough chocolate brownies are rich, fudgy, gooey, and completely chocolate-y. 

If you are looking for recipes for using your sourdough starter, add these brownies to your list. 

Peppermint Cheesecake Swirl Brownies

If you love brownies and cheesecake, why not combine the best of both worlds into one amazing holiday dessert!

These peppermint cheesecake brownies begin with a super rich and fudgy brownie base and then are swirled with a minty cheesecake batter before baking. You will love them for the holidays. 

Heart of Darkness Brownies

These Heart of Darkness Brownies are loaded with rich chocolate, chopped Snickers Bars, chocolate chips, and toasted pecans, and then topped with melted marshmallows and caramel. 

These heart of darkness brownies are ridiculous, in a very good way. Dark chocolate. Caramel. Marshmallows. Chocolate chips. Roasted pecans. Snickers bars. These brownies are about the most gooey and messy dessert... and well worth it. 

Orange Curd Brownies

Deeply fudgy brownies with a swirl of delicious homemade orange curd on top... because chocolate and orange are such a delicious combination of flavors. 

 
These orange curd brownies are moist, fudgy, and totally decadent. They are loaded with a full half pound of melted bittersweet chocolate, and just ooze with chocolate-y goodness. 

S'mores Brownies

These S'mores Brownies are so decadent! Top a graham cracker crust with brownies and top the whole thing with gooey toasted marshmallows.

These brownies bring together the flavors of your favorite campfire treat: crunchy graham crackers, chocolate, and toasted marshmallows.

Twix Candy Bar Brownies

These Twix Candy Bar Brownies are a delicious combination of chewy chocolate brownies and your favorite caramel and cookie candy bar. 

These Twix stuffed brownies are super chocolate-y. They are filled with Fun-Sized Twix bars, the cookie bar that is topped with caramel and chocolate.

Neapolitan Cheesecake

This Neapolitan Cheesecake starts with a chocolate brownie crust, a layer of vanilla cheesecake, and a layer of strawberry whipped cream... and it's topped off with a glorious coating of chocolate ganache.

This Neapolitan cheesecake reminds me of my childhood. The only dessert my dad ever really wanted was ice cream, and his two favorite flavors were rocky road and neapolitan, which we all called "pink, brown, and white." Neapolitan ice cream had a permanent space in our family freezer.

Zucchini Brownies

These zucchini brownies are so dense and chocolatey, and pretty much hide the fact that there are veggies in there.

These fudge-like brownies include a zucchini puree, along with Dutch process cocoa, espresso powder, and bittersweet chocolate chips.

Chocolate-Toffee Crinkle Cookies

These Chocolate-Toffee Crinkle Cookies are essentially just soft and rich brownies or truffles in a cookie form. 

They are loaded with dark chocolate chips and Heath toffee bits. They are really easy to make, and will make your favorite chocolate lovers very happy.

Black Bottom Mini Cream Cheese Brownie Cups

These Black Bottom Mini Cream Cheese Brownie Cups are just about the best "poppable" little bites of gooey chocolate tastiness you will ever experience. 

These things are ridiculous, in a very good way! They are so rich and creamy, and with a "these things are calling my name!" combination of super moist brownie and chocolate chip cheesecake.

Chocolate Brownie Crackle Cookies

These Chocolate Brownie Crackle Cookies are so chocolaty, tender, and moist. They are melt-in-your-mouth good. Imagine brownies, but in the form of a cookie!

I've made similar cookies before. Check out my Chocolate Truffle Cookies, and my Chocolate Truffle Cookies with a Crackle Crust. However, this is the first time I've tried making the cookies with powdered sugar on top.

For the first batch, I dusted the cookies with the powdered sugar prior to baking....

Fudgy No-Butter No-Flour Brownies

These fudgy no-butter no-flour brownies are actually made with almond flour. They are really easy to make. All you need is one bowl.

Countdown to 2015: My 10 Best Dessert Recipes of 2014

These are my top 10 dessert posts from 2014. When I compiled this list, I realized I need to expand my dessert world. There are an awful lot of cookies on this list. It's probably because there are just two of us in this house.

With cookies, I can either pack the leftovers into my grandkid's lunches and take the rest to work. They also keep longer.

My 10 favorite dessert recipes of 2014 (that I made) are:

• Buttery ginger shortbread cookies - I love, love, love shortbread.
• Glazed doughnut cookies - an Italian treat that can be decorated for any holiday.
• Chocolate espresso white chocolate chunk cookies - the name says it all.
• Vanilla sprinkle cookies - sprinkles!!!
• Chocolate coconut macadamia nut ice cream - I need to make more ice cream!
• Chocolate hazelnut sables - such an elegant little cookie.
• Witch fingers - scare the children.
• Peanut butter thumbprint cookies with salted peanut caramel filling - the caramel sauce is divine. 
• Cranberry crackle tart - this is so good. Go buy cranberries now and make this. 
• Chocolate cheesecake brownies - chocolate and cheesecake, right?

This year, Sarah of Fantastical Sharing of Recipes and Secret Recipe Club is hosting a round up some of the best recipes of 2014. Visit her blog to see what other bloggers have contributed to this dessert round up.

Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies

I made these chocolate cheesecake brownies for our annual family Christmas Eve gathering. Every year we rotate hosting duties, and everyone brings a dish. My sweet cousin did a wonderful job. Next year, it's my turn... and next year there will be a new baby in the family!

Best-Ever Brownies | Tuesdays with Dorie

This week, the Tuesdays with Dorie group is baking a brownie recipe titled "Best-Ever Brownies" from the book Baking with Julia. 

This recipe involves melting chocolate and lots of butter, adding some sugar to the chocolate butter mixture, slowly adding half of the four eggs and sugar to the chocolate, whipping the other half of the eggs and sugar into a frothy concoction, folding it into the chocolate, and then folding in the flour and salt. Phew! I had to read the recipe several times just to make sure I was doing it right. Not your typical brownie recipe. 

The recipe calls for a 9 inch square pan, preferably ceramic or glass. Really? Another piece of cookware this cookware junkie with a pan habit does not have? 

I do have an enameled cast iron 9 inch square pan, so I went for it even though cast iron stays hot for quite awhile, and the brownies are supposed to cool in the pan.

I really couldn’t tell by the instructions how to determine if the brownies were done, so I pulled the brownies out at 28 minutes (the max amount of time according to the recipe) even though they were kind of liquid in the middle but set on top. I figured that the pan would stay hot and continue to cook. 

So.. are these the Best-Ever Brownies? 

They are really good actually. They are super fudgy, not at all cakey, but not necessarily chewy. A little goes a long way. While the knife inserted into them to test for doneness came out coated in batter, once the brownies cooled, they came together. I'm not sure if it was the pan or the 6 ounces of chocolate bar in the recipe. If you make this recipe, definitely allow the brownies to cool completely before cutting them.

Would I make them again? Yes!

You can find the recipe on Monica's A Beautiful Mess blog. It's a really sweet blog by the way. For more information about Tuesdays with Dorie, click here. 

Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies

Brownies, cinnamon, cheesecake, pumpkin. What a fabulous combination of flavors. This recipe is very reliable. And it is easy, easy, easy.

Okay, it does require three bowls, a mixer (I used a hand mixer), a pan, a whisk, four measuring cups, and four measuring spoons, but really, it is still very easy. I promise.