A few weeks ago, my daughter’s Daisy Girl Scout Troop went on a hayride at a local farm called Bog Hollow. Bog Hollow Farm is a family-owned cranberry bog that has been in business for over 85 years, and in addition to growing and harvesting cranberries, they also offer field trips and pumpkin picking at this time of the year.
During the hayride out to the pumpkin patch, the owner of the farm, Mr. Mathias, suggested to the Daisy Scouts that the next time they make brownies, they should try adding some fresh cranberries to the batter because cranberries in brownies are really delicious! Being the only food blogger in the chaperone group – a few of the parents looked over at me after he said this – so of course, I had to try his suggestion and make some cranberry brownies!
And Mr. Mathias was absolutely correct! I used our long-time, go-to brownie recipe (the Baker’s Chocolate One Bowl Brownie Recipe) and stirred in a cup and a half of fresh, whole cranberries before baking. And – wow – these cranberry brownies are delicious!
These are dense, fudgy brownies (the best kind of brownies in my opinion) and the sweet-tart taste of the cranberries is a wonderful complement to the rich, chocolaty flavor! My husband Jack thinks that these are the best brownies he’s ever eaten – and when I brought these cranberry brownies to our last Daisy meeting, kids and grownups alike loved them too!
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Recipe adapted from the Baker’s One-Bowl Brownies Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 ounces BAKER’S Unsweetened Chocolate
- ¾ cup butter
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 eggs, slightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups whole fresh cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Line a 13×9-inch baking pan with foil, making sure that the piece of foil is large enough to allow the ends of the foil to extend up and over the sides of the pan. Spray the foil with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, add the chocolate and butter and microwave on high for 2 minutes. Stir until the chocolate is completely melted.
- Stir in the sugar.
- Blend in the eggs and vanilla, stirring to combine as much as possible (there may be some egg that doesn’t completely mix in – that is perfectly fine).
- Add flour and mix thoroughly. Then add the cranberries and stir to evenly combine.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with fudgy crumbs. (Do not over bake – these are very moist and fudgy brownies.)
- Let cool completely. When cool, use the foil to remove the brownies from the pan and onto a cutting board. Cut before serving.
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Oatmeal Cranberry Cheesecake Bars
I first used this his recipe 3 years ago and it has now become my Christmas tradition! Thank you for sharing! My family and neighbors look forward to it each year!
You are very welcome Athena! We were so surprised to taste how nicely the fresh cranberries and chocolate went together…it’s one of our favorites too! Merry Christmas!
Question please. I only have dried cranberries, should I plump them first for this recipe, or just use them dry?
I just read your reply to Jenn. I don’t have cranberry juice, so I am going to plump them in warm orange juice instead. Thanks Lynn
Hi again Lynn – Either will be fine. Enjoy!
Hi Lynn – We moderate our comments to avoid having spammers post links in our comment section – that’s why you didn’t see your question immediately post. I would probably just use the dried cranberries right out of the package – it won’t be exactly the same as using fresh but I think the brownies will still come out delicious!
I made these brownies today for a Friendsgiving my husband and I are going to. I was in charge of bringing the dessert. They turned out really bad though. I followed the recipe exactly but they are very thin, crumbly, tart, and bitter. We are about to leave and I guess we’ll have to stop at the grocery store and buy something pre-baked. This is disappointing. I feel like maybe there is an ingredient missing.
Hi Sara – I’m sorry you were disappointed with the recipe! Thanks for taking the time to leave your feedback.
Can you use powder cocoa and can you use bark coating. Thank You
Hi Billy Ray – I’m sure this recipe could be adapted using cocoa powder but I don’t have a recipe to share with you. If you have a favorite brownie recipe already – try adding the fresh cranberries to that – it should give you similar results!
Made a gluten free version (using a gluten-free-all-purpose flour) of these brownies today. Perfection! Soooo good! Everyone should add this to their Thanksgiving menu 🙂
Thanks so much Laureen! I’m so glad to know that this recipe works with gluten-free flour too! Can’t wait for fresh cranberries to arrive back in the market where we live!
I was wondering if you’ve ever used dried cranberries. I can only find fresh ones during the holiday season.
Hi Jenn – I haven’t used dried cranberries for this recipe but you could definitely try it – perhaps soaking them first in some warm cranberry juice to reconstitute the dried berries a bit? Also – I have seen frozen cranberries on occasion at the market – that might be another alternative for you. Please let us know how it comes out if you try this recipe with the dried cranberries – we’d love to know! Thanks!
I was looking for a recipe because my son just went to Bog Hollow with his school and was told to put the cranberries that he was able to pick from there in brownie mix. That is what he would like to do for Thanksgiving tomorrow. It is so neat that I happen to click on this link and happen to stumble upon your website. I was told by my father in law to roll the cranberries in sugar before adding them to the mix. Did you do this or did you just add them whole? Thank you so much.
Hi Annette – My apologies for not responding sooner – your comment initially went into our spam folder! I just put the cranberries in whole without rolling them in sugar. The sweetness from the brownies is the perfect balance for the sweet-tart cranberries! Hope you love the recipe as much as we did. Have a great holiday!
Martha
These were fabulous!! The flavor balance was just right. I used already chopped cranberries that were languishing in the refrigerator so there were little bits of cranberry goodness in each bite. After trying them, I attempted to “Paleo-ize” the recipe with very disappointing results! I’m thankful I can eat the original!
Thanks Mary! Who knew – right!? I’m so glad that cranberry farmer suggested this combination! Glad you enjoyed the recipe and thanks for writing to us!
I’m liking the use of fresh cranberries as opposed to dry ones! These remind me of the pomegranate brownies I made a few weeks ago!
Thanks Mallory! I’ll have to try pomegranate brownies some day soon!
Unsweetened cranberries? Yes! I’m going to try this!
Hope you enjoy the recipe Charlotte!
These sound fabulous! I will trying adding cranberries the next time I make brownies! What a great idea!
Thanks Kathy! Hope you enjoy them!
I have to check out Bog Hollow Farm; it sounds great.
These brownies looks scrumptious and have some fresh leftover cranberries from a recipe I made this week. I never thought to try cranberries in brownies, but I bet it would be awesome!
I didn’t realize you are a fellow Massachusetts blogger until just now Christine! I think you’ll love these brownies – I never thought to add them either! Thanks for stopping by – Martha