Chocolate Cherry Beet Brownies

These fudgy brownies are topped with dried cherries and white chocolate chips, stuffed with beets, and a divinely sweet way to enjoy beets from the farm share.

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My son had a school project--to make a recipe utilizing a vegetable, document it, and write it up for submission.  Sounds like a blog post, no? Especially fitting for a blog that provides ideas and inspiration for feeding family-friendly recipes using seasonal ingredients from the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share, the farmer's market, and the garden.


I had plenty of beets from the farm share (and had not discovered this amazing Beet, Orange and Cranberry Smoothie) so I asked him to find a recipe using beets.  He found this Fudgy Dark Chocolate Beet Brownies recipe from Pinch and Swirl. I gave my thumbs up and then sat back and filmed him for his project. Leaving my kid to figure it out on his own (to be clear, the instructions in the recipe were excellent and my son followed them easily) helps create independence in the kitchen. This in turn creates independence in life, which is what I want in a kid I'm raising. I wanted to make these brownies a wee bit seasonally festive, so I had him add a topping of dried cherries and white chocolate chips before baking.


I originally was going to share this recipe for #ChristmasWeek but got distracted with My Scottish Grandma's Shortbread and decided that they'd be an excellent Valentine's day treat. Perhaps as the finish for a kid-made meal of Baked Ravioli Valentines? Just a suggestion. I'm all about the suggestions here.

Want more suggestions for beets? Try my Beet Recipes Collection, part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient. This is a resource for folks like me trying to feed them family from the farm share without getting bogged down in the same old same old. Want more recipe ideas? I've got 'em on my Pinterest boards. I'm sharing them on my FB page. I'm finding them on Instagram. Want to know How to Use this Blog?

Cherry Chocolate Beet Brownies (adapted from Pinch and Swirl)

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1 bunch beets, trimmed (save the tops for this recipe) about ½ pound
• 1 cup (2 sticks, 8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces (use the wrapper to butter the pan)
• 1 cup (8 ounces) semi sweet chocolate chips
• 1+¼ cups (my son didn't weigh, but it would be about 5 ounces) unbleached all purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt (we use kosher)
• 1+½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• ½ cup dried cherries, snipped into small pieces
• ½ cup white chocolate chips
• powdered sugar, for dusting on top

Instructions

1. Set eggs on counter to come to room temperature.
2. In a medium saucepan, cover beets with water. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, then reduce heat and simmer, partly covered, until tender. This will take about 20 to 30 minutes for small beets, or 40-50 minutes for large beets. Drain and set aside to cool before processing in a food processor to a fine chop.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9 inch square pan (I rub the wrapper around the pan to do this).
4. In a small saucepan, combine butter and chocolate chips over low heat, stirring until butter melts and chocolate becomes shiny. Remove from heat and stir until well blended and smooth. Set aside.
5. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
6. In a large bowl with a hand beater, or in a stand mixer with whisk attachment, slowly beat eggs. Add in vanilla and brown sugar, and beat at medium high speed until fluffy. 
7. Add beets to mixer and blend on medium-low speed until combined. Add chocolate mixture in small amounts and mix on low speed until combined. Repeat with flour mixture.
8. Spread mixture into prepared pan. Top with dried cherries and white chocolate chips.
9. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until top looks set. Cool on a rack for at least 15 minutes.
10. Dust top of brownies with powdered sugar before cutting. These are good warm, room temperature, and cold.
11. Want to see the unpolished version of my son making all the components? Watch the video!