Cherry Chocolate Bars

By kathleentirpak

similar to a fudge-like brownie

Ingredients

• 10 ounce jar of maraschino cherries,
• drained, 3 Tablespoons juice reserved
• 1 box Devil's Food cake mix
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• or 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans ( optional )

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 inch glass baking dish with canola-oil spray. Cut cherries into quarters. Combine cake mix, egg, and almond extract or vanilla :
" batter " will be very thick and powdery. Spread batter in baking dish, and press cherries into batter. Combine sweetened condensed milk with chocolate chips, and melt in microwave. Stir in cherry juice. Spread chocolate mixture over cake mixture in dish. If desired, sprinkle top with chopped pecans. Bake until center is almost set, about 35 minutes. Cool in pan on rack before cutting into bars.