Chocolate Fruitcake Brownies

                                

As the holiday season quickly approaches, I find myself searching for new recipes that will yield edible gifts for friends and family.  I saw a Martha Stewart recipe (Big Batch Triple Chocolate Brownie Bars) online which seemed tasty but really huge for a pre-holiday taste test. I love fruitcake and brownies and this recipe appeared to be a delightful combination of both desserts.  However, I also didn't want to prepare the recipe because I already had a box of Ghiradelli brownie mix in my pantry.  Mainly, I wanted to taste test out the combination of dried fruits and nuts in a brownie.  What you see on this post is the result of a  box of brownie mix for an 8x8 pan and 2 cups of dried cranberries, golden raisins, dates, walnuts and pistachios.  I think the end product is worth trying again with the original Martha Stewart recipe.  I love the texture and taste that the fruits and nuts add to the brownies.  I think in the future I will reserve some of the fruits and nuts to sprinkle on top of the brownies before baking.  That will make the brownies more attractive and give the consumer a hint of what's inside.  I used a mini nine loaf pan to make the fruitcake brownies and paper liners to make clean up easier.  You can probably find both the mini loaf pan and liners at HM Ben Franklin Crafts.  There are lots of baking/candy making supplies available at all the HM Ben Franklin stores. The messy photo below shows why you should use paper liners.  I plan to freeze the brownies and then remove the liners before wrapping them in plastic wrap or decorative wax paper before packaging them for gift giving.  Wouldn't they look yummy in a pretty hand decorated gift bag?