Chocolate Cherry Truffle Mini Brownies

chocolate cherry brownies

Some people wanna fill the world with silly love songs, and what’s wrong with that?

I opened my first Valentine’s Day post with that line from one of my favorite Paul McCartney songs, and claimed that sometimes, I feel like this blog is made for Valentine’s Day – there’s lots of pink, some sexy desserts, a little bit of booze, and of course: chocolate.

Many of you know that I was single for a loooong time, and I used to spend V day eating grilled cheese and binge watching Netflix. But not this year! This year, I’m ecstatic to celebrate the day of hearts with my special someone. We’re planning to spend the weekend eating grilled cheese and binge watching Netflix. Plus these brownies.

These Chocolate Cherry Truffle Mini Brownies:

mini molten chocolate cakes

I originally wanted to do mini molten chocolate cakes, but in all honesty, I didn’t have enough time to research and test recipes. I do know, however, that the mini brownies I make are the perfect size, and if I stuff them with one of my favorite Lindt truffles, I can make some magic. So I did.

I also added a touch of cherry preserves. I love chocolate and cherry together, and I wanted to incorporate some tartness and stickiness from my favorite cherry jam.

Some other chocolate and cherry recipes: Rocky Road Fudge with Boozy Cherries, Cherry Garcia Smoothie, Mini No Bake Goat Cheese Cheesecake with Roasted Cherries, White Chocolate Cherry Cookies with Sea Salt, and Dark Chocolate Cherry Nutella Truffles, to mention just a few.

chocolate cherry truffle mini brownies

These mini brownies felt like the ultimate high-low dessert: I used my favorite fudge brownie mix (I’m not ashamed to admit I use brownie mix every now and then, even if I’m pretty darn proud of my own brownie recipe). Brownie mix is convenient, and close to perfect in my opinion, but I doctored it up with coffee powder (which amps up the flavor of chocolate) and coconut oil (which adds a slightly intoxicating scent but also adds to the fudginess of the brownie). Then I added a dollop of sweet and tart cherry preserves, plus a ball of LINDOR truffle. I used 60% extra dark chocolate for half of the recipe, and milk chocolate for the other half.

I really like milk chocolate, and for Valentine’s Day – especially – you should stick with what (or who) you really like <3

The end results are fudgy mini brownies that are perfectly sized, thanks to mini muffin tins, filled with a touch of cherry jam and a truffle that melts into an ooey gooey filling.

chocolate cherry mini brownies

Yield: 24 mini brownies

Chocolate Cherry Truffle Brownies

Ingredients

1 boxed fudge brownie mix
2 large eggs
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon instant coffee powder
25 LINDOR truffles (I used 12 milk chocolate truffles + 12 extra dark truffles) or any of your favorite truffles
1/4 cup cherry preserves
butter or extra coconut oil for greasing pans

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, combine brownie mix, eggs, coconut oil, and coffee powder. Stir until well blended.
  3. Grease mini muffin pans with butter or oil, and scoop a half tablespoon of brownie batter in each muffin cup (or fill to a third).
  4. Drop a half teaspoon of cherry preserves into the brownie batter, then press a truffle in each cup. Top with another half tablespoon of brownie batter. Mixture should be enough for 24 mini brownies.
  5. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.

mini molten chocolate cake close up

All photos on this blog post were taken by my very talented friend Chris McIntosh. Check out his beautiful photos on his website and on Instagram.

I hope your Valentine’s Day is filled with love songs and chocolate!