Cherry Almond Brownies

2 sticks butter
4oz Baker's Chocolate (1 package)
2 cups brown sugar (accept no substitutes)

I melted the butter and chocolate together; and then, poured over the brown sugar and mixed together, before letting it cool, because the next step is adding eggs; and I don't like it when the eggs congeal (even slightly) upon impact.

2 eggs (because that's what I had)

And I mixed it all together.

1 teaspoon almond extract (can one ever have too much?)
1 cup flour (because round numbers bake better)

Yes, indeed. This is where I thought I should mix it together once again, prior to proceeding.

In a separate bowl, I mixed together the following. And please note, I did this in a separate bowl, because... well, doesn't that sound neat, you know, just like they might do on one of those cooking shows. And I wanted the cherry juice to be absorbed by the oatmeal (and not the chocolate batter).

1½ cup Dark Morello Cherries (as available from Trader Joe's, truly things of wonder; and I drained them, using just the cherries, as I'll drink the juice later, maybe as a cocktail with some Amaretto)
2 cups oatmeal

A real chef, which I obviously am not, would have measured the oatmeal first, then spooned the cherries over, mixing lightly, before setting aside and proceeding with the rest of the recipe.

Instead, I opted to read a chapter of Moby Dick.

After mixing it all together, I poured the lot into a pre-buttered glass baking dish. The one I chose was a mite too large.

2-3 teaspoons salt (lightly... or heavily... dusted over the top... I chose heavily)
1 cup sliced almonds (spread over the top)

And then, I tamped the entire thing down with the bottom of my measuring cup, setting the almonds into place. We must have order, after all. And cooked for 45 minutes at 350°, including warm up time, as Real Men do not pre-heat ovens... or take whatever they are cooking out of the oven right away, so I left it in for ten more minutes; and after that, let it cool in the oven with the door open.

So, um...

Take that accurate cooking times!

The salt worked out great. This one's a keeper.

May, 2018