Description

Fudgy cocoa brownies cut into squares, each filled with thick cooked black cherry sauce and marked with two tiny “puncture” dots for a vampire-bite look—no cream cheese or marshmallow.

Ingredients

Brownies: unsalted butter, melted — 1/2 cup (113 g)
Brownies: granulated sugar — 3/4 cup (150 g)
Brownies: packed light brown sugar — 1/4 cup (50 g)
Brownies: unsweetened cocoa powder — 1/2 cup (50 g)
Brownies: all-purpose flour — 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp (75 g)
Brownies: fine salt — 1/2 tsp (2.5 g)
Brownies: large eggs — 2 (about 100 g total without shells)
Brownies: vanilla extract — 1 tsp (5 ml)
Brownies: semisweet chocolate chips (optional for extra fudginess) — 1/2 cup (85 g)
Black cherry sauce: pitted dark sweet cherries, fresh or frozen — 1 cup (170 g)
Black cherry sauce: granulated sugar — 1 tbsp (12 g)
Black cherry sauce: lemon juice — 1 tsp (5 ml)
Black cherry sauce: cornstarch — 1 tsp (3 g)
Black cherry sauce: cold water — 1 tsp (5 ml)
Filling/assembly: flaky salt (optional, for contrast) — a pinch (about 0.5 g)

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Instructions

Prep pan and cool space. Heat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line an 8×8-inch (20 cm) pan with parchment, leaving overhang for lifting. Lightly grease the parchment. Set aside.
Make brownie batter. In a medium bowl, whisk melted butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until glossy. Whisk in eggs one at a time, then whisk in vanilla. Sprinkle in cocoa powder and salt; whisk until smooth. Fold in flour (and chocolate chips, if using) until just combined. Batter will look thick and shiny.
Bake. Spread batter evenly in the lined pan. Bake 25–30 minutes, rotating once halfway. Doneness cues: edges look set, the center is slightly soft, the top looks dull (not glossy), and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with moist crumbs (not wet batter).
Cool completely. Cool brownies in the pan for 20 minutes, then lift out using parchment and cool to room temperature (about 1 hour). Do not fill while warm.
Cook thick black cherry sauce. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine cherries, sugar, and lemon juice. Bring to a gentle boil and cook 5–8 minutes, stirring, until cherries break down. In a small cup, mix cornstarch with cold water to make a slurry. Stir slurry into the simmering sauce and cook 30–60 seconds, until it becomes noticeably thicker and glossy like jam.
Cool sauce. Transfer sauce to a bowl. Cool until thick and spoonable (about 20–30 minutes; it will thicken more as it cools). If using flaky salt, stir in a tiny pinch.
Cut brownies. Using a sharp knife, cut brownies into 16 squares (4 rows x 4 columns). Wipe the knife between cuts if needed to keep edges clean.
Make the bite marks. Use the blunt end of a skewer to make two small indentations close together in the top of each cooled brownie. Do not push through the square.
Add the cherry filling. Spoon or pipe about 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) thick cooled cherry sauce into and just below the two indentations on each square, making a short ruby streak. Keep the sauce away from the edges so the brownies stay neat.
Chill and set. Refrigerate filled brownies at least 1 hour (up to overnight) to firm the filling and clean up the bite-mark edges.
Serve. Serve chilled or let sit at room temperature 10 minutes for best fudgy texture.

Notes

If your cherry sauce seems thin before cooling, simmer a minute or two longer; it should thicken as it cools. For the cleanest puncture look, fill only on fully cooled brownies and make bite marks immediately after filling—while the cherry sauce is still spreadable but thick.