These fudgy chocolate cherry brownies are have an amazing texture and can easily be made gluten-free or whole wheat. They’re also dairy-free.
I needed to come up with something last minute for a picnic recently and turned to my best gluten-free brownies recipe. They’re always a hit and nobody ever has a clue that they’re gluten-free and whole grain.
I had a bunch of cherries begging to be used so here we have some chocolate cherry brownies! I originally wanted to cover them in a dark chocolate ganache loaded with kirsch but once I had a bite from the corner, it was clear that even more sugar and chocolate was not needed.
They’re perfectly rich on their own! Those brownie pieces in the pictures are probably way too big unless you have a crazy sweet tooth.
Are sour cherries hard to find in your area? It seems like they’re pretty standard in cherry pie recipes but I can never find them. Or okay – I’ve seen them once. I figure if I have a hard time finding then, then you may, too. So I used sweet cherries in these brownies.
I don’t know if I’ve ever eaten a sour cherry other than dried tart cherries. Would they give these brownies a kind of sweet tart taste? Or are they no good unless they’re cooked down to cherry pie filling with loads of sugar? My sour cherry knowledge is just sad.
But back to the recipe! You can omit the almond extract if you’d like but it really goes so well with the cherries. Making something with stone fruit and not adding almond extract just doesn’t make sense to me. I may have a slight almond extract addiction. ;)
If you want to pretty the brownies up a bit, you could try tossing some sliced almonds on top of the batter before baking. I don’t think they’d get too brown while baking but if they do, just cover the pan with some foil.
I hope everyone has a happy July 4th (or happy Monday if you’re outside of the US! :))
Should you find yourself camping this summer, why not try these campfire brownies from Vegetarian Mamma? They look so fun! And these cherry chocolate cookies are another delicious chocolate cherry treat!
If you try these brownies, I’d love to hear your thoughts below in the comments! Thanks. :)
Chocolate Cherry Brownies (gluten-free, dairy-free, whole grain options)
- Prep Time:
- Cook Time:
- Ready in:
- Yield: 12-16 brownies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (158 grams) teff flour or 1 cup (125 grams) buckwheat flour1 or 1 cup (125 grams) whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour for a non-GF version
- 3/4 cup (86 grams) Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted if lumpy (you could also use Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (196 grams) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly (use coconut oil for a dairy-free version)
- 1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated sugar, raw sugar, or coconut sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups (170 grams) pitted sweet cherries, quartered
- 1/2 cup (85 grams) semi-sweet chocolate chips (use dairy-free chocolate chips, if necessary)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C) and line an 8"×8" (20cmx20cm) pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together the melted butter or coconut oil, sugar, almond extract and vanilla extract. Once combined, add the eggs one at a time, and stir just until combined.
- Add the dry mixture to the wet and stir just until almost no streaks of flour remain. Do not overmix! Fold in the cherries and then the chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. If using teff flour, bake for 23-30 minutes or until the brownies have formed a thin crust and appear set in the middle. If using buckwheat or whole wheat, you may only need 21-26 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center will come out wet. A toothpick inserted into the sides will come out with some moist crumbs on it, but not totally raw batter. The brownies will continue to bake as they sit in the pan and will firm up as they cool.
- Let cool completely and then cover and refrigerate.
Notes
- Buckwheat flour is naturally gluten-free but not all buckwheat flour is processed in a gluten-free facility. If you need these brownies to be gluten-free, make sure to use certified gluten-free buckwheat flour!
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48 comments on “Cherry Brownies (gluten-free option)” — Add one!
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These are hands down the best gluten free brownies I’ve ever made and I’ve tried allot! I used the buckwheat and did need to cook it 40 minutes to achieve the description, excellent. I will try the teff next time! Thanks so much for sharing this!
You’re welcome! I’m really glad that you enjoyed them. :) I hope that you’ll like the teff version just as much! I’ve also discovered that Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-free 1-to-1 Baking Flour (blue bag) and King Arthur Flour Measure for Measure Gluten-free Flour both work great. Should you ever be out of buckwheat or teff. Thanks for your feedback!
I love these brownies. Made them several ways. The only one that didn’t work was a combination of coconut oil and coconut sugar
I’m glad that you enjoy them! I make them (without cherries) all the time with coconut oil and coconut sugar so I’m not sure what the issue could be. I always use refined coconut oil, as I don’t like the taste. Thanks for your comment!
These are so good!! I can’t believe it’s taken me almost 26 years to combine two of my favorites, cherries and chocolate – but I’m so glad I finally tried it :) I hate making your recipe any other way than as written because why mess with perfection, but I somehow didn’t have buckwheat flour on hand – but I saw in the comment section of your “best gluten-free brownies” (I’ve made those tons of times over the past 5 years since you first published them and they’ve always been a hit to whomever I’ve served them to) that you had suggested 1 1/3 c almond flour to one reader who had asked about it, so that’s what I used here and they turned out great. Thank you so much for another amazing recipe!
Hi Emily! I’m so very sorry for just now seeing your comment. It was in spam for some weird reason and I haven’t been diligent with checking that during this mess of a year. :( I’m really glad that you enjoyed the brownies! And the GF brownies, too. I love that you first want to make the recipes as written. If only everyone were like that. 😂 Thanks a bunch for your feedback and for following along all these years! Sorry again for my slow reply.
I’m allergic to dairy and gluten, so I’m always on the hunt for something sweet I can eat! These have been on my list for months and I finally got around to trying the recipe.
I made these using 2/3 c gluten free flour mix + 1/3 c almond flour, and substituted a bag of dried cherries for the fresh cherries. I also went the coconut sugar and oil route. They’re PHENOMENAL, especially cold from the fridge. I wish I’d had almond extract on hand because I totally agree almond extract goes in everything.
Thanks for this!!
Haha. Almond extract really does belong in everything! It’s so good. :D I’m so happy that your flour sub worked out well! And I bet dried cherries are awesome in these. Thanks a bunch for your feedback!
Quick question, can frozen cherries be used in place of fresh? i know that frozen can sometimes leak too much liquid so just wondering if you’ve ever tried with frozen before?
So sorry for just now seeing your comment! I’ve never used frozen but I’m thinking you’re right and that they may be too liquidy for these brownies.
I made these for the first time. I doubled the recipe and served them today with homemade whipped cream! Every person that bit into these brownies uttered an approving gutteral sound. They were a hit! I used freshly picked sour cherries, buckwheat flour, coconut oil and coconut sugar. Amazing! Thank you!
So happy you and the others liked them! I bet freshly picked sour cherries are amazing in these. :) Thanks for your feedback!
Oh my gosh this looks so good! I am over here drooling over this dish right now. I am all over this. I can’t even stop starring.
Haha. So you like the look of them? ;) I hope you get the chance to try them! Thanks for your comment. :)
I love brownies and these look yummy!
Thank you! :)
Erin, just wondering if you have used Bob’s Red Mill 1for 1 flour in your Best Brownie recipe? Trying to cut down on the different flours I have been buying to make everything gluten free. Thank you
Hi there! I haven’t tried it. Just buckwheat, teff and whole wheat flour. But since whole wheat flour works in there and I’ve had good luck with subbing the 1 to 1 flour for whole wheat, I think it’d work. You’re talking about the blue bag, right? If you try it, I’d love to hear how they come out. :)
These brownies looks great, I made zucchini brownies last week and I think next time I’ll try your recipe. Thanks for sharing.
I hope you’ll enjoy them! :)
Yum, yum, yum. Have to take dessert to a backyard get together. Gonna make this!
I hope you’ll enjoy them! :)
These brownies look so decadent!
They really are! :)
I am such a sucker for chocolate and cherry!
Same here!
Love love love! Brownies are my favorite
One of mine, too!
My mouth is watering just reading this and looking at the pics, this sounds like perfect dessert after a long day.
Thanks! I hope you get the chance to try them out. :)
I love the combination of cherry and chocolate! They looks fantastic!
Thanks, Miranda!
I adore the cherry/chocolate combo! These brownies sound and look fantastic! :)
Thanks, Carrie! And same with me. :)
I love cherries and my husband loves brownies! This is the perfect combination!
I hope you get the chance to try them out! :)
One time a friend of mine made brownie and cherry skewers and they were amazing. After that, I had to eat brownies with my cherries. This just makes it that much easier.
Ooooh! That sounds so delicious. :)
I love that you put cherries in the brownies!
Thanks, Krista!
Just bought some teff flour! Can’t wait to make these!!
Yay! I hope you’ll enjoy them. I’d love to hear how it goes. :)
Gaaaah these look perfect! I’ve never used teff flour so I’m thinking these brownies are the perfect intro to ;) Loving the chocolate-cherry-almond combo! Bring it!
Oooh! You need to get on that! :D
Hi! I was wondering if you can use frozen dark pitted cherries in this recipe? Will all purpose flour work as well?
Check out the most recent comment and my reply. :) And I think AP flour would work well!
The chocolate/cherry combination is SO good! These brownies look amazing! :)
Thank you, Laura!