Yogurt Covered Raisins Are Dangerous

In my last post I mentioned that I’ve been craving brownies. That craving grew and grew and got to the point where something bad was going to happen if I didn’t make brownies. I even started to get mad at the other dishes I was making because they weren’t brownies. I made soup and hated it. It wasn’t brownies. I made muffins and hated them. They weren’t brownies. I made hot chocolate and… didn’t hate it entirely, at least there was chocolate. But it still wasn’t brownies. Then I found out that CandyRecapper was hosting this month’s Sugar High Friday and had chosen the theme of baking with candy. Bingo! I figured I could throw some candy into a brownie recipe and kill two birds with one stone. Then I would be making brownies with a greater purpose than simply to satisfy my irrational cravings.

I typed ‘brownies’ into the Epicurious.com search bar and saw a recipe for Brownies with Chocolate Covered Raisins. Chocolate covered raisins are all well and good, but I immediately knew I would be swapping them out for yogurt covered raisins, even though I knew this was a potentially bad idea. You see, I have a problem with yogurt covered raisins. I like them so much that I eat them until I feel sick and then vow to never eat them again. This resolution is futile and I inevitably end up overdosing the little devils again at a later date. It’s not even like yogurt covered raisins are that good. The yogurt coating is kind of waxy and artificial tasting but for some reason I’m drawn to them and never stop eating them when I know I should. I blame the fact that they’re predominantly sold in bulk form and that I have a very heavy scooping hand. Or possibly it’s the fault of the gnomes. They seem like they could be at the root of this evil… Uh yeah, gnomes. Anyways, I tried to curtail my snacking habit by throwing all of the yogurt raisins into the brownie batter so I wouldn’t have any leftovers but this only encouraged me to overdose on the brownies instead. Curses! I never win!

Brownies with Yogurt Covered Raisins, (Adapted from Bon Appetit, March 1995)

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
7 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup yogurt-covered raisins

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 8-inch square pan with 2-inch-high sides. Stir butter and both chocolates in medium saucepan over low heat until melted. Remove from heat; cool to lukewarm.

Using electric mixer, beat sugar and eggs in medium bowl until very thick and pale, about 3 minutes. Stir in melted chocolate mixture and vanilla. Mix flour, baking powder and salt in another medium bowl. Stir into chocolate mixture. Mix in chocolate-covered raisins.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until tester inserted into center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached and top cracks in places, about 30 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool in pan. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with foil and let stand at room temperature.)

Cut brownies into squares.

Servings: Serves 12.