It’s just like a cherry cordial — one that’s big enough to need a plate. BAM! Cupid just shot a thousand tiny arrows into your taste buds. Deal with that.

BATTER INGREDIENTS

• 1 box brownie mix (Ghirardelli Ultimate Fudge, with the fudge icing packet included)
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine
• 1 or 2 eggs (1 for a shorter, fudgier brownie; 2 for a taller, fluffier brownie)
• 1/3 cup water

FILLING INGREDIENTS

• 1 8-ounce package cream cheese
• 1 12-ounce jar marshmallow topping (the kind you drizzle over ice cream)
• 2-3 teaspoons almond extract, to taste
• 1/3 cup juice from a maraschino cherry jar
• 15-25 maraschino cherries, depending on pan size

DIRECTIONS
Open box mix and set aside the fudge icing packet, which you’ll use after the baking. Be careful when buying your brownie mix for this recipe. Don’t confuse a “put-the-fudge-packet-INTO-the-batter” mix with a “put-the-fudge-packet-ON-TOP-OF-the-baked-brownie” mix. (The into-the-batter packets are usually not very sweet and won’t work as a frosting.)

Pour powdered brownie mix into a large bowl.

Melt butter or margarine in microwave (about 25-30 seconds) and add it to the brownie mix, along with the eggs and water. Mix thoroughly and spread batter in a greased pan.

In a medium bowl, place cream cheese and marshmallow topping. Mix with hand beater on medium speed just until completely mixed.

By hand, mix in the cherries, almond extract, and maraschino juice. It will be the prettiest shade of pink!

Using a tablespoon, scoop up one cherry and a spoonful of the cherry filling. Place this cherry-pink filling down into the chocolate batter. Don’t just put a dollop on top of the batter; try to get it down in there.

Plan ahead on how you will space the cherries into your pan. Each brownie should have one cherry in its center. I used an 11×7 pan and I used 24 cherries in 6 rows of 4 cherries.

Bake until a toothpick placed into the chocolate part comes out nearly clean, about 25-40 minutes, depending on the size of your pan.

Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Soften the fudge icing packet by placing it under hot tap water for 30 seconds. Knead packet in your hands to mix packet’s contents. Cut away a tiny corner of the packet so it will deliver a thin ribbon of icing.

Drizzle icing over your cooled brownies in a pattern that will be pleasing to you and your valentine. You don’t have to go for a “fully frosted” effect here; feel free to leave some areas exposed.

Mmm, mmm. “Love” just isn’t a big enough concept for this. Serve with two forks.

January schmanuary. I’m feeling tropical. Won’t you join me underneath this palm tree?

Cue the steel-drum band. The Key Lime Margarita Brownie deserves some good theme music.

Ahhh. These blonde brownie treats have a luscious key lime kick.

They’re not too sweet, a little gooey, and all impressive when you serve them to your gape-jawed guests.

And you can say, “Oh this? It’s just a little dessert I made in my spare time.”

INGREDIENTS

Batter

• 1 box (15-17 ounces) sugar cookie mix
• 2/3 cup brown sugar (use only 1/3 cup if using a “Splenda” brand)
•  1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted
• 2 eggs
• One 8-ounce package cream cheese (let soften outside of ‘frig for 5-10 mins)

Key Lime Filling

• 15- to 20-ounce jar of lime curd or key lime pie filling (I used a 23-oz jar and had 1/2 c leftover)

Pre-baking Garnish Options (choose one of these three or make up your own)

• Option 1 – Vanilla sugar (1/4 cup sugar and 1 tsp vanilla)
• Option 2 - Graham crust (1/4 c crushed graham crackers and 2 T sugar)
• Option 3 – Salt (1/2 tsp flaked margarita salt)

Some of these ingredients are optional. All of them are yummy.

DIRECTIONS

Put the sugar cookie mix into a bowl and stir in the brown sugar.

Mix together the dry ingredients.

Melt 1 stick of butter in microwave for about 30 seconds. Add melted butter and 2 eggs to the dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly.

Butter makes everything better!

Using 2 eggs means you'll get a taller, fluffier brownie.

Blend in 1 package of softened cream cheese.

Mixing is easier if you slice the softened cream cheese as you add it to your batter.

Oh, yummy. Try to keep your finger-lickin' digits out of the bowl, please.

Spread your blonde batter into a greased 9×13 pan. An 8×8 pan is not big enough for this recipe! Now get your lime curd or key lime filling.

Deelish. May I suggest that you go for a key lime filling that is NOT green? In nature, the key lime is actually rather yellow. NOTE: If your store doesn't have key lime filling pre-made in a jar, you can probably find a dry mix to make it yourself in the pudding aisle...just do that in advance.

Now comes the fun part: Putting the key lime goo into the blonde brownie batter. One spoonful at a time, spoon the key lime filling into the batter, being sure to push the goo below the batter surface. Make sure every brownie will have several bites of lime flavor.

Push the goo down into the batter... you don't want it to just sit on the surface.

Use a knife to gently swirl together the blonde batter and the key lime goo.

Oh. My. This is where it starts getting a little exciting. Try not to drool in the pan.

Before baking, garnish with something wonderful of your choosing:

Garnish Option 1 – Vanilla sugar (1/4 cup sugar and 1 tsp vanilla)

The only thing that makes a sugar garnish better is to add vanilla to it. It gets richer and sweeter. And the sugar crystals gang up together to make little "sugar-clump colonies" that bake up crisply and dance on your tongue.

"Sugar" is to "brownie" as "smile" is to "people." I'm pretty sure that's an actual college-entrance-exam question.

Sprinkle the vanilla sugar on top of your blonde batter. So pretty!

Garnish Option 2 - Graham crust (1/4 c crushed graham crackers, 2 T sugar, 1 tsp vanilla)

Crush graham crackers using a plastic zippy bag and a rolling pin. Add sugar and vanilla. Shake the bag to mix it all together. Sprinkle over your batter.

Get out your aggression. Oh, yeah.

Hey, sugar.

Why dirty a dish, when you can just pour the vanilla right in there and shake the bag?

This is a lovely garnish option, especially if you're looking for a taste that is closer to a key lime pie. Yum!

Garnish Option 3 – Salt (1/2 tsp flaked margarita salt)

Pinch a few flakes of margarita salt and sprinkle them sparingly onto your batter. This'll give your blonde brownie a little margarita flair.

Sprinkle your garnish of choice onto the top of the batter. Then bake at 350 F for 35-45 mins (depends on your pan size and depth of batter), until a center-placed toothpick comes out moist but nearly clean.

Let cool for about 30 minutes so they set up before cutting. Now get out your hammock, tie it between two pieces of furniture, and enjoy your tropical treat! Ahhh.

I posted this image on my Facebook page and got several dozen elated responses in just a few hours. I guess most of my friends were not scared of this Halloween treat.

As if the pumpkin and cheesecake swirls aren't enough to make you shiver in your shoes, the sweet and spicy glaze will cause you to cringe with delight.

INGREDIENTS

Pumpkin Batter Ingredients

• 3/4 box spice cake mix (about 3 cups)
• 1 29-ounce can solid-pack pumpkin (I used about 20-22 ounces of it)
• 1 egg
• 2 Tbsp oil
• 1/2 cup water

Cheesecake Batter Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 2 Tbsp oil
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 package cream cheese, softened
• (optional) 3 – 4 Tbsp ricotta cheese
• (optional) 1 – 2 Tbsp sour cream
• 1/2 box white cake mix (about 2 cups)
• 1 box cheesecake-flavor powdered pudding mix (I used Jello sugar-free instant)

Spice Glaze Ingredients (optional)

• 1.5 – 2 cups confectioner’s sugar
• small amount of milk to attain a glaze consistency (about 1/8 – 1/4 cup)
• 1/8 – 1/4 tsp each of cinnamon, cloves, and allspice (ok to leave out one, if you prefer)

How-To Video:

DIRECTIONS

Mix together pumpkin batter ingredients until smooth. Pour into a greased 9×13 pan. Don’t use a 9×9 pan; that will be too small and will result in a brownie that is too thick to bake evenly.

Divide the cheesecake ingredients into “wet” (egg, oil, water, cream cheese, ricotta cheese, and sour cream) and “dry” (cake mix and pudding mix). Mix together the wet ingredients first, stirring for about a minute, until it looks like a creamy blob of perfection. (You know you want a taste, but keep yer mitts outta there!) Then add the dry ingredients, blending until smooth.

Now the swirly fun begins. Drop spoonfuls of the cheesecake batter onto the pumpkin batter that is already in the baking pan. Then use a knife to swirl the batters together.

Bake at 350 F for about 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out almost clean.

If you’re a sweet-tooth, mix together the glaze ingredients until smooth and drizzle it on top of the brownie crust.  Not only is this a great idea for a Halloween treat, but also a wonderful change of pace for Thanksgiving or Christmas! Have fun with this recipe, my brownie minions!

By now, you’re probably getting the impression that my brownies are my children. I love them all. And I hate to play favorites. But this one, this little lovely sun-colored gem, is quite special. It’s my site’s first blonde brownie. And it’s a doozy. My husband just had his fourth serving, and I made them just 3 hours ago. That means it ranks a “ten” on the IE Scale (Infinite Edibility Scale).

The Dreamy Apricot Blonde Brownie. Girly, yes. But men love it, too.

INGREDIENTS

1 box (15-17 ounces) sugar cookie mix

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted

2 eggs

One 8-ounce package cream cheese (let soften outside of ‘frig for 5-10 mins)

2/3 cup brown sugar (use only 1/3 cup if using a “Splenda” brand)

1 c macadamia nuts

1 c apricot preserves

1/2 tsp cinnamon

With a palatable pile like this to start from, how could you possibly go wrong?

DIRECTIONS

Melt 1 stick of butter in microwave for about 30 seconds. Add melted butter and 2 eggs to sugar cookie mix and mix thoroughly.

Mmm, butter-n-eggs. A solid start to build from your box-mix base.

Blend in 1 package of softened cream cheese. It helps if you cut it into pieces before adding it to the bowl.

Cream cheese is a pretty, pretty addition to make your batter smooth and rich.

Add brown sugar and stir. Mix in macadamia nuts and spread into a greased 9×13 pan.

In my mind, it wouldn't be a blonde brownie without some brown sugar in it. And the macadamia nuts? Well, gosh, they just make everything better.

Put apricot preserves into a microwave-safe dish and warm it for 30 seconds so it’s easier to stir. Add cinnamon and mix completely.

I think apricot preserves are heavenly on toast, but even better in baking. And just a touch of cinnamon makes a big difference in this recipe.

Now comes the fun part. Putting the preserves into the batter. You have two choices of how to get it there:

a) Use a knife to make channels or deep swirls in your batter and spoon your preserves into the channels, or

b) One tablespoon at a time, spoon preserves onto the batter, burying the preserves below the surface, then use a knife to gently swirl the batter and preserves together.

I like to have fun with my food.

Bake at 350 F for 35-45 mins (depends on your pan size and depth of batter), until a center-placed toothpick comes out moist but nearly clean. Let cool for at least 30 minutes so they set up before cutting. Though they’re delicious when completely cooled, I highly suggest eating while they’re still warm. It’s like taking a bite right out of early autumn itself. Mmm.

The Dreamy Apricot Blonde Brownie, in all of its cheerful glory.

White-Chocolate Truffle and Cherry-Pie Brownies….  What? You say that it’s not possible to have THAT MUCH goodness in one brownie?

Well, believe it, my Brownie Minions. It *is* possible to have white chocolate AND truffle AND cherry pie AND brownies–all together in one dessert that could teach the world to sing in perfect harmony. Stop snickering. I’m serious.

It's um, gah. Whew... This symphony of sweet treats is *almost* beyond words. Think of cherry cordials. And Christmas. In your mouth.

If you need proof, then bake this new brownie creation. It’s this site’s first fruit brownie: The White-Chocolate Truffle and Cherry-Pie Brownie. Before you read any further, please have a seat–I don’t want to face any lawsuits because this recipe caused someone’s knees to buckle.

INGREDIENTS

Brownie box mix (plus egg, oil as directed on box)

A 21-ounce can of cherry pie filling (use the bright-red cherry filling, which is much prettier than black-cherry filling)

1 ounce amaretto

1/2 tsp ground cloves (plus or minus, to your taste)

6 ounces (or about 15) white-chocolate truffles (like Lindt, shown below)

Just getting warmed up here. Gathering all my darlings together before the "quickening." (All of you Highlander fans will get what I'm talking about here.)

DIRECTIONS

Measure out one ounce (a full shot glass) of amaretto.

Liquid gold. So pretty.

Mix pie filling, amaretto, and cloves together in a small bowl; set aside.

Amaretto goes into the cherry pie filling. Smell that sweetness?

 

Mix in the cloves. It's a party in your Olfactory Factory.

Prepare brownie mix as directed on box. I always use the option on the box that says “for a thicker brownie;” it usually calls for an extra egg. And that extra egg will give your brownies some more loft. Pour batter into a greased pan. Add dollops of cherry mixture using the spoon to push cherry mixture deep into the batter.

Despite much evidence to the contrary, this is the best kind of spooning there is.

I get a little light-headed just looking at this photo. <swoon>

Bake as directed on box, adding about 10-15 minutes to total baking time to compensate for the extra thickness due to the cherries. While brownies are baking, cut up your truffles into halves or thirds.

This step may seem tragic as you're carrying it out, but keep moving forward. Soon, you will be glad that you "ruined a whole bag of truffles" by hacking them to bits.

Remove brownie pan from oven when a toothpick comes out clean. While crust is still warm and soft, push truffle pieces down into the crust.

You're almost there!

Nirvana is at hand. With this brownie, there's no need to wait until it cools. It's a decadent treat when served hot with a scoop of ice cream. Enjoy!

This box is pretty enough to pair with my White-Chocolate Truffle and Cherry-Pie Brownie. Sproing, indeed!