Recipe: Dark Chocolate Orange Brownies

One of my favorite things in cooking is creating new recipes. Especially when it's at the request of a friend. So when Rachel Harris asked me yesterday to come up with a new twist on a brownie recipe for a scene in her upcoming YA novel, THE NATURAL HISTORY OF US (aka The Fine Art of Pretending #2), of course I jumped at the chance.

This cheater recipe starts with a boxed brownie mix (both because it's so much faster, and because often you can find boxed mixes on sale for much cheaper than buying all of the ingredients for a basic brownie mix), which makes me grin because the recipe is for Rachel's Fine Art of Pretending series, and what better way to celebrate than by making brownies that aren't really made from scratch but taste like you spent hours putting them together?

Dark Chocolate Orange Brownies

You will need:
1 box Dark Chocolate Brownie Mix (13x9 pan size)
1/2 c. cocoa powder
2 eggs
1/4 c. oil
1/4 c. water
1/2 c. orange marmalade
optional: 1 c. dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Coat a 10x15-inch bar pan with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, mix together brownie mix and cocoa powder, until cocoa is fully incorporated.

Add remaining ingredients, and mix just until dry ingredients are moistened.

Spread batter in prepared pan, and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Makes approximately 35 brownies.