Black Forest Brownies

I'm so bogged down with homework, even though it's mostly reading, that I don't really have a lot of time to elaborate or tell a cool story. All I have to say is that this semester is going to be tough. There's tons of reading to do, tons of problems to work out, plus I have to study for my MCAT, and get to getting recommendations, and all that other stuff that goes into applying for Med School. But everyone needs some down time, and these brownies fit the mold perfectly. They have a subtle cherry flavor, as well as dried cherries in the batter. They also have a sour cream layer on the top that adds a new flavor dimension to these brownies from Good Housekeeping: Brownies!. Keep in mind that "kirsch, sour cherries, and chocolate are the hallmarks of Black Forest cake, which was originally created in the Black Forest region of Germany. We've captured all the fabulous flavor of the classic in a brownie that takes twenty minutes to prepare." The only thing I did differently to this was that I used cherry juice instead of kirsch because I didn't have any on hand.

Black Forest Brownies
*makes 24 brownies*

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 tbsp cherry juice
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 tsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup dried tart cherries
16 oz sour cream

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 13" by 9" baking pan. In small bowl, with wire whisk, mix flour and salt.
2) In 3-quart saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Remove from heat. With wire whisk, stir in cocoa until smooth. Add cherry juice, 1 1/2 cups sugar, and 2 teaspoons vanilla; whisk until well mixed. Add eggs; stir until well combined. Stir flour mixture into cocoa mixture just until blended; stir in cherries. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan.
3) Bake until toothpick inserted 1 inch from edge comes out almost clean, 20 to 25 minutes.
4) Meanwhile, in small bowl, stir sour cream, remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla until blended. With small metal spatula, spread sour cream mixture evenly over baked brownie. Bake until topping has set, about 5 minutes longer. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.
5) When cool, cut lengthwise into 4 strips, then cut each strip crosswise into 6 pieces.