You must love the flavor of chocolate to like these bar cookie. The cocoa flavor is strong, the cherries give a sweet and sour bite, but the bars are not overly sweet. Using canned cherries and a chocolate cake mix makes this recipe easy to make.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 can (14.5 ounces) pie cherries packed in water (not syrup), drained
- 1 (18.25 ounces) chocolate cake mix, divided use
- 1 egg
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 1/2 cup butter, melted (1 stick)
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- .
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 1 cup powdered confectioner's sugar
- 3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- Powdered confectioner's sugar for topping
Preparation:
Put cherries in a strainer to drain. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Reserve 1 heaping cup dry cake mix and set aside.In large bowl, combine remaining cake mix, 1 egg, 4 ounces cream cheese and butter. Blend well. Spread batter into bottom of foil-lined 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and press lightly into batter. Bake for 15 minutes and set aside.
In medium bowl, cream 2 eggs, buttermilk, cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, and cocoa until well blended. Slowly add reserved cake mix, and beat on medium speed until mixture is smooth and thickened (about 3 minutes).
Place drained cherries on paper towels and gently blot dry. Spread cherries evenly over baked crust. Top with batter, and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until lightly browned on top. Cool completely and cut into bars.
Dust bar tops generously with sifted powdered sugar just before serving as the moisture in the bars will cause the sugar to melt within a matter of hours.
Yield: 24 bar cookies
