In about a month, you’ll be seeing chocolate covered cherries filling the candy aisle at your local grocery store. Why not give the chocolatey stocking stuffer a break this year and, instead of just leaving cookies for Santa, make cherry brownies for him and the entire family?! Just be sure there’s plenty of milk to go around, because Julia’s Cherry Brownies will be asking you to dunk them in a glass right after they’ve cooled…

But they might not last that long! Brownie’s à la mode might be the way to go instead; who could resist these brownies served with ice cream? A much more loved dessert than a holiday fruit cake, Julia’s brownies only have two things in common with the stereotypical Christmas treat. They contain fruit and a bit of rum, thrown in for good measure. She doesn’t use dried cherries, though, she goes for the frozen ones. Julia doesn’t say anything about thawing them beforehand, which is likely due to the fact that frozen fruits thaw nicely during the baking process.

Taking the brownies to the next level, Julia adds natural cherry flavour. This is a recipe that can be put together fairly quickly, but make sure your batter makes it to the baking stage…the challenging part is waiting an hour for the brownies to finish baking. But don’t worry! Your patience will be greatly rewarded with an addicting batch of heavenly brownies that any chocolate covered cherry lover will love! See what other great desserts Julia has on her blog Sweet Lady Sweets.