CHERRY AND CHOCOLATE BLONDIES – SUPER EASY

I made some jam with the last of the seasons plums and peaches, and the plum portion went straight to a clear conserve texture, even the skins dissolved. I added the sugar at about half the weight of the fruit and stirred till dissolved then thought what am I going to do with this  – so I added a good portion of it to some vodka to infuse – and after a day or 2 , it tasted really good.

The rest was added to some homemade vanilla ice-cream that could then be served with or even topped with the infused fruit. Next step was a biscuit to add a bit of crunch and perhaps a bit of tartness to the sweetness of the ice-cream.

Herewith is a recipe for chocolate and cherry Blondies that is so easy and quick that it deserves to be added to the list of almost instant emergency bakes. It even freezes well but could do with a few seconds in the microwave before serving.

These are soft, moist and bendy – do not overcook. Makes enough for about 8 quite large pieces.

CHERRY AND CHOCOLATE BLONDIES – SUPER EASY

Ingredients

  • 125g butter
  • 1 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup plain flour
  • 150g dark chocolate melts, chopped roughly
  • 1 cup cherries – frozen is good but fresh works too (or combination of whatever berries are available). It is not necessary to chop unless the fruit is really large. You want chunks.

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a 20 cm square pan with foil and spray with oil.
  2. Melt the butter in a medium sized glass mixing bowl.
  3. To the melted butter, add vanilla, egg, and brown sugar and stir to combine.
  4. Add the flour, and stir only until just combined. Mix for too long and the biscuits will be tough.
  5. Fold in the chunky chocolate pieces and chunky fruit then  spread the mixture into the pan, smoothing it to reasonably level.
  6. Bake for 25 minutes and check until the edges begin to slightly pull away from sides of pan and centre is set when touched lightly.
  7. Baking time will vary based on the types of fruit used, and whether it is fresh or frozen, and how moist it is.
  8. I want my Blondies gooey to serve with ice-cream so I stop cooking when just done.
  9. Allow to cool for at least 1 hour before slicing.
  10. It is best to slice the entire tray and store sliced.