06 April 2008

dark chocolate cherry brownies •





Well, the temperature outside yesterday passed 60 degrees, and we actually had sunshine! I thought it called for a celebration. Which means, of course, CHOCOLATE. And not just milk chocolate but rich, dark chocolate. With the addition of okara, these brownies are more cake-like than fudgy, but are they delicious.

Dark Chocolate Cherry Brownies •

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a microwaveable bowl melt together:

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (3 ounces)
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons Hershey’s® Cocoa Special Dark
4 tablespoons butter

Microwave on high for one minute, stir and set aside to finish melting.

In a large mixing bowl sift together:

1 cup white unbleached flour
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup ground or chopped walnuts

Toss in 1 cup dried tart cherries.

In a small mixing bowl stir together:

1 cup wet okara (this is referring to the okara straight from your machine)
2 teaspoons vanilla

Add the chocolate mixture to the okara mixture. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, mixing well. Spread into a greased 8 x 8 square baking pan. (To make it easier to cut, line your pan with a sheet of foil that overhangs the edges an inch or two. Spray the foil with cooking spray, then spread your batter. When it is finished baking, just lift out the foil and you can cut perfect squares with no waste....and that is important when you are serving something chocolate!) Bake for approximately 35 - 45 minutes. Do not overbake.

7 comments:

Marija said...

I am so happy I found your blog. My father makes soy milk every 2 days and we have tons of okara we don't know what to do with. Thank you for sharing your recipes! :)

toontz said...

Marja-

Oh, I am so glad you find it helpful. That was the whole reason for this blog - to help others through their mountains!

Anonymous said...

I will admit I have never heard of Okara before seeing you at the leftoverqueen forum, but its sounding interesting! Especially making these yummy brownies.

I have tagged you in a game... have a look at this page...

http://ryansrecipeblog.blogspot.com/2008/04/meme.html

toontz said...

Thanks, Ryan!

I have never been tagged before....I will give it a go!

Anonymous said...

These sound divine! One of my DDs loves dark chocolate and cherries together, so next time se warrants a treat, I might make her these.

I have heard of okara, never used it - am a great fan of Japanese cuisine 9and other stuff), and of soy in general. At least 3 of us at our house are pretty-nearly-vegetarian, so we have eat soy products a lot!

tokyovegan said...

Hi, Toontz.
I printed out your recipe a couple months ago and finally made these today, as my fridge is exploding with Okara!
I did not have all the ingredients and made some changes (healthified and veganized it), too:
No bittersweet chocolate: used 1 cup semi-sweet vegan chips instead; Used 3T oil instead of butter; whole wheat pastry flour; and get this: NO ADDED SUGAR!
To my surprise, they turned out great, chewy and dense inside and crispy outside. In fact, it was one of the best brownies I've ever tasted. No one would suspect they contained Okara!
Thanks so much,
William

toontz said...

William-
Thank you for letting me know of your success with your substitutions. Your version sounds delicious (and healthier)! I will have to try out your recipe on my teenagers... :)