These homemade chocolate cherry brownies made completely from scratch have crackly tops, chewy edges, and fudgy centers with sweet juicy cherries and melted chocolate pieces in every bite.
Made with fresh, frozen, or tinned cherries, these easy cherry brownies bake up in less than an hour.
There's something so satisfying about bars and brownies. They're one of my favorite baking categories! The best part? They're so easy to make and bake up start to finish in one hour. You'll need to add a bit of cooling time to that...or you can just dive right into them with a spoon while warm!
For more brownies, try these Ferrero Rocher Brownies or red velvet cheesecake brownies. If you're looking for something a bit less chocolate, try my Chewy Browned Butter Blondies. They have all the fudge factor with a bit of chocolate added in.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
Classic flavor combination - these taste just like those delicate chocolate-covered cherries and are way easier to make!
Fudgy brownies - thanks to the cherry juices that bake into the batter, these brownies stay moist and fudgy for days!
One bowl - make these brownies in one large mixing bowl! Sift the dry ingredients right into the wet ingredients and make for easy clean up.
Ingredients
- Cocoa powder. This recipe uses dutch-processed cocoa powder which is darker in color and flavor. Use black cocoa powder for an even more dramatic color. Note that Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa is the dutch-processed version found in most grocery stores.
- Sugars. Both granulated sugar and light brown sugar are used in the recipe to create the best flavor and chew factor.
- Fats. Butter is used for flavor, and oil is used for moisture.
- Eggs. This recipe uses three full eggs. It's best for them to be at room temperature so they can whip in best. The egg whites are the key to crinkly tops!
- Chocolate. The recipe calls for 4oz. I use ~70% cacao for bars or semi-sweet chocolate chips/chunks.
- Cherries. Frozen or fresh produce the best flavor (both pitted), but tinned cherries can be used too. Note that these chocolate cherry brownies should not be made with cherry pie filling, which is different from tinned cherries.
See recipe card for full ingredients list and quantities.
Substitutions and Variations
Brownies are made for mix-ins and variations! Here are a few ideas of how you can mix it up.
- Cherries. Sweet fresh, frozen or tinned cherries produce the best results. Pitted maraschino cherries or frozen sour cherries can also be used.
- Nuts. Walnuts, pecans, almonds, and pistachios are all good options. Nut spreads (peanut butter, almond butter, etc.) are also great to swirl into the tops.
- Chocolate. Add in your favorite type of chocolate! It can be chocolate chips, chunks, or a chopped chocolate bar.
- Liquor. Try adding two tablespoons of Kirsch to the recipe for an extra boozy cherry flavor!
- Bite sized. Bake the brownie batter in muffin tins for an easy to grab version. Bake time will need to be reduced.
- Gluten-free brownies. Use Bob's Red Mill 1-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour to make these gluten free.
- Add your favorite frosting or buttercream to the top.
- Top the brownies with fluffy whipped cream for a Black Forest brownie variety!
How to Make This Recipe
One: Beat together the fats and sugars until smooth.
Two: Add the eggs and whip for three full minutes.
Three: Sift in the dry ingredients and fold them together until mostly combined.
Four: Add the cherries and chocolate and finish mixing them in.
Hot tip! Only mix the batter until you can no longer see the dry ingredients! Over mixing can dry out the brownies.
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Five: Pour the batter into a prepared square pan.
Six: Spread it evenly, then bake and cool completely before slicing in.
Best Brownie Tips
- Let the base mix with the eggs for the full time. The agitation of the sugar with the egg whites is what produces crinkly brownie tops!
- Use Dutch processed cocoa powder. Not only does it produce a darker and richer flavor, but it also aids in a fudge brownie than natural cocoa. Read about the difference between dutch-processed and natural cocoa powder.
- Don't over bake the brownies! You'll be tempted to continue baking them, as the center tends to look underdone. Remember, they'll continue baking as setting as they cool. Overbaked brownies turn cakey.
- Cool the brownies completely before slicing. I like to pop mine in the fridge, which makes them extra fudgy.
- Completely clean off the knife in between each cut for perfect brownie slices. Slice down to the bottom, then pull the knife out the side (rather than pulling back up).
Recipe FAQs
This is also a personal preference, but I prefer a semi-sweet chocolate for chips or around 60-70% cacao for chocolate bars. Milk chocolate just doesn't produce the same depth of flavor (and color) many seek in a brownie, and is a bit too sweet, as well.
For the cocoa powder, it's best to use dutch-processed or black cocoa rather than natural cocoa powder.
Yes, definitely! Note that bake time will decrease with a larger pan size, and the brownies will be slightly thinner. Start checking for doneness at the 25-minute mark to be safe.
Chill the brownies completely in the fridge. Use a long, thin knife and slice down then slide it out from the side (rather than lifting back up). Clean off the knife completely in between each slice.
Yes, double the recipe, but the bake time will be similar!
Either too much flour or cocoa powder was added, or they were over baked. A digital scale for measuring will ensure accuracy (or use the fluff, scoop and level method). Brownies may still look a bit jiggly in the center when done, but should not look sloshy.
No, just leave them out with no additional changes to the recipe.
Yes, you can use natural cocoa with no changes to the recipe, but the brownies will be lighter in color and not be as rich in flavor.
Storage
Store the cherry chocolate chip brownies covered with foil at room temperature for 5 days. Alternatively, you can store them in the fridge for one week.
To freeze the brownies, wrap them completely in plastic wrap, then foil, and transfer to a sealed container. Freeze the chocolate cherry brownies for two months. Completely unwrap and thaw at room temperature before enjoying.
More Chocolate Recipes You'll Love
What to Know When Cooking with The Cozy Plum
- All recipes are created with Diamond Crystal kosher salt, the least salty variety of kosher salt. If using Morton's, you'll need to cut the amount of salt in half as it's 2x as salty. This will be the same for sea salt. Please do not use table salt.
- Switch between Cups vs Metric using the toggle on the recipe card. Baking by weight using a digital scale will always produce the most accurate results.
- Scale the recipe using the '1X' '2X' '3X' buttons on the recipe card. Note that this does not make an adjustment for baking times, only quantities.
- If you'd like to make the recipe in a different pan, use the pan size converter.
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📖Recipe
Chocolate Cherry Brownies
Equipment
- Parchment paper optional
- hand mixer or whisk
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup dutch processed cocoa powder
- ¾ cup unsalted butter melted
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 4 oz semi-sweet chocolate roughly chopped, or use chunks or chips
- 1 cup pitted sweet cherries halved or roughly chopped - see notes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉/177℃ and line an 8x8-inch baking pan with parchment paper slings (or grease the pan).
- Sift together the all purpose flour and cocoa powder into a bowl.1 cup all-purpose flour, ⅔ cup dutch processed cocoa powder
- In a large bowl, add the melted butter, vegetable oil, white and brown sugars to the bowl and whisk (or use a hand mixer) to fully combine.¾ cup unsalted butter, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, 1 cup granulated sugar, ¾ cup light brown sugar
- Add the salt and whisk in one egg at time to combine. Then, whisk vigorously for three minutes.½ teaspoon kosher salt, 3 large eggs
- Add the sifted flour and cocoa powder to the liquid mixture and use a rubber spatula to fold it in until almost no flour remains.
- Add the semi-sweet chocolate and chopped cherries and fold it in until evenly dispersed, then pour into the prepared pan.4 oz semi-sweet chocolate, 1 cup pitted sweet cherries
- Bake in the center rack for 40-50 minutes. The center should look slightly jiggly and the edges will be set. If the center looks sloshy, continue baking.
- Remove to a wire rack to cool, then remove the brownies with the parchment paper and cut on a cutting board.
Ali
I just made these, but I feel like the moisture from the cherries made them very very wet, as if they were undercooked, no matter how long I baked them for. Anything I should do differently?
Callan Wenner
Hi Ali - can I ask if you used fresh or frozen cherries? If frozen, try thawing them and patting them dry with a paper towel before adding them into the batter. Otherwise, try adding an additional 1/4 cup (30g) of flour to absorb more of the liquid if you think you'll run into this issue again!
Christina
Made these for a gathering and decided to swap gluten free flour (Bob’s 1:1) so everyone could enjoy. They turned out SO well! Incredibly fudgey and decadent. Will make again!
Stef
these are SO good! decided to make these on a rainy sunday and it was the perfect recipe to have a child help with (easy and lots of things to dump in a bowl and mix). the cherries complement the chocolate so well - delicious!
Carmen Ey
Everything you want a Brownie to be - crispy chewy, fudgy and easy to make. Followed the recipe exactly for the first time and they turned out exactly as Callan describes. Even people who don't like cherries, loved them. Heard the comment more than once, "I don't normally like cherries, but these were the best brownies I've ever had". Well I love cherries and couldn't agree more!
Callan Wenner
This is so great to hear! I also love cherries 😉 Glad we've got some converts!
Hazel
Great recipe, very moist and fudgy. I only baked them for 30 minutes on a low oven rack though. Any longer and they would have been dry.
Renee S
I made these brownies for a Valentine's Day party, and they were a huge hit! So delicious, fudgy and moist. I used gluten-free flour in place of all-purpose and vegan butter in place of regular butter. You can't even tell a difference! Thanks for this recipe. <3
Callan Wenner
Amazing!! So happy to hear these swaps not only worked, but also tested delish.
Jane Johnson
Am making theses and cookie salad for our potluck this weekend
The Cozy Plum
Oh yay!! So happy to hear that - and intrigued by cookie salad!
Emilie
These brownies are a MUST. The most perfect fudgy texture and eaten warm with ice cream = HEAVEN!
The Cozy Plum
This does sound like heaven, haha. Thanks so much for making them, and for the review!!