You can have umpteen recipes for this or that, and they’ll all be different, to one degree or another.
Here, then – in response to a request from Dale E. Hoggins of Edmonds – is another of those. One single recipe that six Forum cooks basically agree on. Almost, anyway. The amount of almond flavoring varies slightly, though, as does the frosting.
But, so what? The following recipe has been adapted to reflect these differences, so you can pick the one that fits your own personal preference.
First, let’s hear what these six sharers have to say, starting with this letter from Jean Rowe of Marysville.
“I’ve made this recipe in the past couple of years to enhance the Christmas goody baskets for relatives,” she writes. “They absolutely love these bars! The bars are so rich and moist, I’m sure Dale and his family will enjoy them.”
When Jean whips up a batch, she uses 1 teaspoon of extract and the first frosting recipe.
Next, Carol Wilson tells us, “After I had found several recipes for these bars on the Internet, I remembered seeing a recipe in an old cookbook. Maybe this is the recipe the Hogginses are looking for. I read the Forum all the time and like the recipes and the stories that go along with them. Thanks.”
Carol, like Jean, uses 1 teaspoon of the extract and the first frosting recipe.
Monroe cook Mary Huber calls her recipe Black Forest cake and says, “I’m thinking you could just use a brownie mix in place of the cake mix and call it cherry bars.”
She, too, uses the first frosting recipe, but omits the almond extract.
Incidentally, Mary mentions, “I greatly enjoy your column and look forward to it each Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I was delighted to get help from your readers with the prune upside-down cake recipe long ago, in December of 2005 … just like my mother made!”
Linda Staab of Everett says, “I think I can help Dale Hoggins with the chocolate-cherry recipe he’s looking for. I’ve made this for years – it came from a friend who said her mother-in-law got it from Good Housekeeping ‘about a billion years ago.’
“It uses a chocolate cake mix, not a brownie mix. I always bake and serve this as a cake, but there are instructions included for making bars. Love your column – it’s so homey.”
When Linda bakes a batch, she omits the extract and ups the milk in the first frosting recipe to a 1/2 cup.
Everett cook Lavon A. Woodey suggests, “Try this cherry chocolate cake recipe in a jellyroll pan. There’s too much, and it’s too thick for my taste, anyway, when it’s baked in a cake pan. It’s moist and has great flavor.”
Lavon ups the almond extract to 2 teaspoons and uses the second frosting recipe.
And last but certainly not least, we hear from “a longtime clipper,” Mattie Meier of Monroe.
“I hope this recipe for brownie cherry bars is the one that Dale Hoggins is looking for. I’ve made it many times, and it is simple to make. I’ve used so many of your recipes and still have a stack of them to try!”
Mattie uses a teaspoon of almond extract and says frosting is optional.
“Leftovers, if there are any, freeze well,” she adds.
Before you begin, you ought to know there’s a discrepancy about when to frost the bars. Some cooks pour the frosting over the bars the minute they come out of the oven. Some cooks let the bars stand just until the frosting is ready, and then pour it on. And others cool the bars before frosting.
Since this recipe will apparently work satisfactorily whenever you apply the frosting, suit yourself.
Chocolate cherry bars
1package devil’s food cake mix
1can (21 ounces) cherry pie filling
1-2teaspoons almond extract (omit, if desired)
2eggs, beaten
Frosting (recipes follow)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 1-by-10-by-15-inch jelly-roll pan or a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. In large bowl, combine the dry cake mix, cherry pie filling, almond extract and eggs; stir by hand until well blended. Spread in prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 30 minutes for the jelly-roll pan, 25 to 35 minutes for the 9-by-13-inch pan.
Prepare frosting; pour and spread over bars as soon as they come out of oven. OR, remove bars from oven, then prepare frosting and spread over warm bars. OR, cool bars before frosting.
Makes one jelly-roll pan (about 48 bars) or one 9-by-13-inch pan.
Frosting
1cup granulated sugar
1/3cup milk
5tablespoons margarine or butter
1cup (6 ounce-package) semi-sweet chocolate chips, or 6 squares (6 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
In small saucepan, combine the sugar, milk and margarine or butter; bring to a boil. Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly, then remove pan from heat and stir in chocolate until smooth. Frosting will be thin.
Frosting
1/2cup granulated sugar
21/2tablespoons butter
21/2tablespoons milk
1/2cup chocolate chips
In small saucepan, combine the sugar, butter and milk; bring to a boil. Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly, then remove pan from heat and stir in chocolate chips, blending until melted. Frosting will be thin.
The next Forum will appear in Friday’s Time Out section.
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