Cherry Almond Brownies {@ItBakesMeHappy Guest Post}

I'm so happy to have Emily hang out with me today!!  I love Emily's blog & all of her recipes!!  Her photos are always amazing & make her delicious recipes look that much more craveable!  I know y'all are going to love this decadent dessert she's sharing today!!!

  
Hi I'm Emily and I'm the baker, designer, photographer behind It Bakes Me Happy. I have a serious sweet tooth and a love of all things chocolate. I especially love brownies, I mean LOVE. They are my go to dessert, my favorite way to enjoy chocolate and in my opinion one of the best desserts of all time! I make them when I need a pick me up, a treat for a friend or even an activity at church.

With my brownie love proclaimed today I am excited to share with you one of my latest obsessions: Cherry Almond Brownies. I'll confess, I'm not that big on butter; but I'm the first to admit when it comes to baking, sometimes it's just irreplaceable! Brownies happen to be one of those baked goods that just aren't the same without butter and these brownies are no exception. Rich, fudgy decadent squares packed with cherries, almonds and chocolate chips; you're going to swoon for these babies. I made them a few weeks ago for a friend when she was in town visiting and she loved them so much I sent half the pan off with her; after all sharing is caring. Plus they were divine slightly warm and just as good cold from the fridge = a true win.

If you're looking for a few more ways to satisfy your chocolate cravings? Check out a few of my other brownie recipes – there's one for every kind of brownie lover: 

Monster Brownies, 

Heavenly Hash Brownies,  

Mint Chocolate Chip Brownies 

or

Irresistible Brownie Bites

Hungry for more? You can find me on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest; enjoy and happy baking!

Ingredients:

1/2 c butter
5 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 c brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 c all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
12 cherries, pitted and chopped
1/3 c mini chocolate chips
1/4 c chopped almonds

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350º and line an 8"x8" baking pan with parchment. In a saucepan melt the butter and add the semi-sweet chocolate chips, stir until smooth. Remove from heat and add the brown sugar. Add the eggs one at a time and beat the batter until thick. Stir in the vanilla and sea salt. Add the flour, baking powder, cherries, chocolate chips and almonds and stir until it just comes together. Spread the batter into the pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the edges crisp. Cool in the pan completely, slice and serve.

Yields 16 Brownies

Recipe adapted from Chunky Pecan Milk Chocolate Brownies from Brownie Points by Lisa Slater

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Sesame Soy Green Bean Salad

So it's now September.  And it's still hot.  Hot I tell you, as in this past weekend it was well over 100 degrees.  It's just not right.  Come September 1st, Mother Nature is just supposed to realize that the people of Texas can't take triple digits anymore & drop the temperature at least 20 degrees.

She's screwing with us people.  Texas has obviously done something to piss Mother Nature off cause she's making sure summer lasts as long as possible.

So we're still keeping the AC blasting and the ovens off.  Here's a perfect side dish for these lingering hot summer nights ~ Sesame Soy Green Bean Salad.  It's served cold.  It's the bomb.  Pair with a simple grilled meat with some Asian flavors & you've got a perfect dinner!

SESAME SOY GREEN BEAN SALAD 
YIELD: serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 bag (12 ounces) frozen cut italian green beans
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1/2 tablespoon sugar
• toasted sesame seeds for garnish {optional}

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Blanch the green beans for about 5-6 minutes so they are no longer frozen but still crisp. Remove from the heat and then place the green beans in an ice bath to stop the cooking. Drain the beans.
2. Add the green beans to a medium bowl with a lid. Add the soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil & sugar to the green beans. Toss to coat until all of the beans are covered.
3. Place the beans in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours, stirring after each hour. Toss the beans again before serving. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds if desired.

RECIPE INSPIRED BY: Table For Two


THIS POST PROUDLY SHARED AT THESE PARTIES

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Wonderful Food Wednesday

Thank's for joining us for another week of 

Wonderful Food Wednesday!!

Before we jump into the party, I wanted to let y'all know about a few updates I've made around here!  First, I've completely revamped my Link Party Page!!  I'd love for y'all to head over & check it out & let me know what you think!!  And if you host a party that I haven't added to the list ~ feel free to leave me a comment over on the party page!! :)

I also did some updating to my Advertising Options & have added in a few new Virtual Assistant focused spots!  I would love to help any of y'all out to grow your blog so if you've been thinking about looking for a VA for any projects or just to be an extra set of hands, feel free to send me an email!!  You can pick directly from any of the Ad options or if you have other needs, just let me know!!   

So now let's get to this week's party!!  We are so excited to say that our numbers are starting to pick up week after week!!  Thank you to each and every one of you who participate in Wonderful Food Wednesday and bring your recipe posts to link up. We enjoy checking out what you've been cooking in your kitchens! We also enjoy pinning the posts you link up. That's right! If you didn't know already, each of your hosts go through the posts linked up and pin them!  We each have our own Wonderful Food Wednesday Party Boards so that's triple the pins & exposure to over 14k pinners!  We also try to share some on Facebook & Twitter! We saw LOTS of amazing foodie posts last week!!

So did y'all like last week's giveaway??  If you weren't the winner, don't worry!  We have several more fun giveaways coming up for you, including one next week that you DO NOT want to miss:  

NEXT WEEK- enter to win a prize package of 3 Hamilton Beach small kitchen appliances: 

a shake blender

panini grill

&

 a food processor!!

Now, I don't know about you, but I'm thinking if you don't need one of the three, it would make a great Christmas gift!

This week we are featuring food in jars, because for some reason, putting food in a jar is so much fun! Stop by these blogs and show them some love.

Satori Design for Living: Fresh Peach Crisp in a Jar

Stacy Makes Cents: Crockpot Sliced Peach Butter

Frugal Mom Eh: Mom's Tomato Salsa

Want to be featured? Post your best and we’ll pick a few of our favorites to feature each week. Check back next week to see if you’ve been featured on Wonderful Food Wednesday. If you’re featured, your recipe will also be pinned to our Wonderful Food Wednesday Pinterest board.

Featured? Grab our button and place it on your sidebar.

This week Jaime, Jessica and Kerrie were cooking up these fabulous recipes on our blogs:

Jaime's Pork Tenderloin Sliders with Orange Aioli

Jessica’s Chicken and Cheese Calzones (with Broccoli)

Kerrie’s Easy Macaroon Chewies

Join The Fun:
1. Follow your hosts Kerrie @ Family Food and Travel, Jessica @ All She Cooks ,  & Jaime @ Mom’s Test Kitchen.

*Please note that by linking up you are giving permission for your picture & post to be pinned to the Wonderful Food Wednesday Pinterest Board & to use the photos along with a link back to your post on Mom's Test Kitchen's Social Media Networks

 
**We are currently looking for a food blogger to join our team and host Wonderful Food Wednesday on a permanent basis. If you are interested fill out this form.

Leave us a comment and tell us what you’re cooking up!

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