Every day is a different food holiday, it seems. My twitter stream never fails to remind me about Grilled Cheese Day or Hot Dog Day or Chocolate Day or whatnot. As silly as the notion is, as a food blogger I don’t mind these theme holidays since they provide good inspiration for what to make. Well, you know, even the most creative cook may need a bit of nudge from time to time when ideas run low. And then there are those strange moments when all the stars align. I realize after baking my Drunken Cherry Almond Brownie this morning that I celebrated National Amaretto Day. What are the chances? I rarely break out my bottle of amaretto and I did it on the most appropriate day of the year.
The inspiration for this brownie comes from Boyfriend’s love for all things cherry and chocolate. We haven’t seen each other since February and I’m excited to finally see him this weekend in Austin! My new favourite brownie recipe takes well to add-ins. Since I last made it in Fort Lauderdale, I’ve been itching to make it again at home.
The night before, I soaked a cup of dried sour cherries in amaretto to plump them up. When I woke up this morning, all the little morsels were drunken with the almond liqueur! I complemented them with half a cup each of coarsely chopped roasted almonds and white chocolate chips. The brownie recipe as written would be a better fit in a 8x8 square cake pan. With all the extras, I bulked up the batter enough to fill a 9x9 square cake pan nicely. It finished baking at exactly the 30 minute mark.
I wish I can tell you what it tastes like. If all goes according to plan, Boyfriend and I are not digging in to the brownies until Sunday noon! Good thing this is a good keeper. What I can tell you though is that my kitchen smelled absolutely amazing with the mix of deep dark chocolate and sweet almond and tart cherries. Happy Amaretto Day!
