Secrets from the Cookie Princess: Strawberry Almond Brownies

Here's a decadent, twist on chocolate covered strawberries. Forget the cold, slimy, overpriced version and toss those chopped up strawberries into a fudgy batter, add some almonds and bake those suckers into chewy brownies. Boom. Valentine's Day classic reinvented. I took these to work for a training and everyone loved them. There weren't a lot of people there, but I still only came home with a few of these guys--everyone needed seconds. The strawberries add a subtle sweetness and the almonds are a great change of pace to the regular walnut dotted brownie. A bit of amaretto adds an extra layer of flavor that really brings these brownies together. I may never go back to dipped strawberries.

So remember these peanut butter swirl brownies? That recipe came from a Food Network Magazine booklet, 50 Brownies. As did this awesome recipe, but with a twist. The recipe from the booklet uses dried cherries, but since I happened to have dried strawberries on hand, I made the adjustment accordingly and all was well with the world. I also used blocks of semi-sweet baking chocolate rather than chips, but that's just because I have a LOT of baking chocolate. These brownies need no frosting or topping because they are perfect as is, but a big glass of milk (or maybe a nice glass of wine with your Valentine) would fit the bill.

Strawberry Almond Brownies

Ingredients

13 ounces semisweet baking chocolate or 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup butter
1 cup dried strawberries, chopped
2 Tablespoons amaretto
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup dried strawberries
2 Tablespoons amaretto
1 cup sliced almonds

In a medium saucepan, melt chocolate and butter over low heat, stirring to combine. While chocolate and butter melts, place strawberries in a small bowl and soak in amaretto to plump.