Easy Cherry Lover's Brownie Bars

Anything that combines chocolate and cherries wins me over every single time!
These bars are easy, starting off with your favorite brownie mix.  It's the other stuff that gets swirled in before baking that makes them so good.

Ingredients

1 brownie mix plus ingredients to make as directed on package (any full sized mix, take your pick)
2/3 cup Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk
4 oz. cream cheese, softened to room temperature (1/2 a brick)
1/4 cup cherry preserves or jam
3/4 cup cherry baking chips (or see substitution option below)
Powdered sugar for dusting

Directions

Spray a 9 x 11 or 9 x 13 pan with butter flavored non-stick spray.

Prepare the brownie mix as directed on package and spread evenly into baking dish.

Into a medium bowl, add sweetened condensed milk, softened cream cheese, cherry preserves or jam, and cherry baking chips, whisk or stir until well combined.

Pour over brownie mix.

Using a butter knife, swirl into the brownie batter.  Don't over-swirl - you should be able to see distinct swirls in the batter.

Bake at 325 degrees for  35 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out slightly moist, but not wet.  The center should not be sunken in at all.

Allow to cool completely to room temperature and dust lightly with powdered sugar before cutting.

About those cherry baking chips..... I use them often when I bake because they have such good flavor, but I can no longer find them in grocery stores.  Albertson's used to carry them, but I  don't have an Albertson's in my area, so I order 6 bags at a time online. Any brand will do, but the ones I order are Log House.  If you don't find them locally and don't want to bother with ordering them, you can substitute with chopped maraschino cherries.

This is the brownie mix I used, which I get at Sam's Club, but any brownie mix will work just fine, even one with nuts.

A perfect bite! There are a gazillion ways to transform a basic brownie mix into a different bake, and I'm glad I came up with this one, I really like it!  The cherry chips are such a pretty bright color once baked, and they really deliver the cherry flavor!