A brownie mix is doctored up with maraschino cherries and a tasty frosting is made from cherry juice, cream cheese and powdered sugar.

Valentine’s Day is almost upon us! Today I have a really simple and delicious treat that I found at The Lady Behind the Curtain. A brownie mix is doctored up with maraschino cherries and a tasty frosting is made from cherry juice, cream cheese, and powdered sugar.

The only trick to this recipe is keeping an eye on the brownie bites. You want just the right balance, not too overdone but not underdone either. The original recipe called to bake for 9-12 minutes, 

Valentine's Day Dessert: Cherry Brownie Bites with Cherry Cream Cheese Drizzle Recipe

but with my temperamental oven and high altitude, I had to add quite a few more minutes to this. Keep a close eye on these while you back them. Enjoy!

Cherry Brownie Bites with Cherry Cream Cheese Drizzle Dessert Recipe

Cherry Brownie Bites with Cherry Cream Cheese Drizzle

A brownie mix is doctored up with maraschino cherries and a tasty frosting is made from cherry juice, cream cheese and powdered sugar.

Ingredients

For the Cherry Brownies:

  • 1 boxed brownie mix
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 3 tablespoons cherry juice from the maraschino cherry jar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1-10 ounce jar maraschino cherries drained and sliced in half
  • cooking spray
  • 1 Cherry Cream Cheese Drizzle recipe below

For the Cherry Cream Cheese Drizzle:

  • 4 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
  • 4 tablespoons powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cherry juice

Instructions 

For the Cherry Brownies:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Combine the brownie mix, flour, oil, cherry juice and eggs. Mix until combined. Fold in the sliced cherries.
  • Spray 24 muffin cups with cooking spray. Spoon 1 tablespoon of batter into each muffin cup. Bake 9 to 12 minutes, until tops are set. (I had to bake mine for several minutes longer at my high altitude) Just like brownies you DON’T want to over bake these cookies.
  • Once cookie are out of the oven run a small knife around the edge of each cookie to loosen them from the pan while they continue to cool. Cool Completely in muffin pans. Using your small knife pop them out of the muffin cups.

For the Cherry Cream Cheese Drizzle:

  • Blend the cream cheese until fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and blend until well combined. Add cherry juice 1 tablespoon at a time.
  • Place drizzle in a plastic zip top bag. Clip the corner and drizzle over your cookies. NOTE: I wanted my drizzle to be thick if you want it to be more like a glaze then add more cherry juice.