Strawberry Swirl Brownies

You know what's really hard? Starting the week off with a fantastic Monday only to follow with three not so great days in a row. Monday was my birthday and the kids were spot on perfect. I couldn't have asked for a better day. There is that saying that goes something like "if mom's not happy, no one is happy." In my house it is more like "if the kids aren't happy, no one is happy." When they're great, I feed off of their fantastic, happy energy. When they're not, it really affects me.

After three tough days, I was due for a chocolate fix. Big time. I also had some strawberries that were about to be slightly past their prime and needed to be used up, preferably cooked in something. Everyone knows that chocolate and strawberries go hand and hand, yet I've never had a strawberry brownie. Times are a changing. The white chocolate in the recipe is completely random. I wanted it to be dark chocolate, but I started unwrapping and dropping into the butter, only to realize it was white chocolate. Oh well. These were gooood. I dare you to just eat one.

Strawberry Swirl Brownies
a goodLife {eats} creation

• 8 Tbs butter, sliced into tablespoons
• 4 oz. white chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 c cocoa powder
• 3 eggs
• 1 c sugar
• 1 c flour
• 1 c Strawberry Sauce, recipe follows

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a saucepan, melt the butter. Add chopped white chocolate, whisking in until melted. Turn off heat and whisk in cocoa powder, eggs (one at a time), and sugar. Stir in flour with a spoon.

Line an 8x8 pan with foil and spray with cooking spray. Pour half of the brownie batter in. Add half of the strawberry sauce on top and swirl in with a knife. Add the remaining brownie batter on top and even it out. Drop the second half of the strawberry sauce on top and swirl in. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. After brownies have cooled, life out of pan and cut into brownies.

Strawberry Sauce
adapted from Cook's Illustrated

• 2 c strawberries, sliced
• 3/4 c strawberry preserves
• 1/2 c sugar
• juice of half a lemon
• 1 Tbs cornstarch

Combine sliced strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice in a bowl. Let sit for 10 minutes. Pour contents in a food processor with the preserves and process until smooth. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring frequently until thickened. Remove from heat and use in brownies or other goodies.


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