February 10: Favorite Cream Cheese Brownies

Favorite Cream Cheese Brownies

Ingredients:

Filling
12 oz cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons sour cream, room temperature
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg white, lightly beaten with a fork

Brownie Base
1 1/2 cups extra dark or bittersweet chocolate chips
1 cup (8 oz) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup (4.5 oz) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and place a rack in the center. Line a 9 inch square metal pan with nonstick foil or line it with regular foil and spray the foil with nonstick baking spray.
2. Make the filling: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl, using a handheld mixer, beat the cream cheese, sour cream, and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce the speed of the mixer and beat in the vanilla and egg white, beating just until mixed. Set aside.
3. Make the brownie base: Put the chocolate in a medium sized, microwave safe bowl and melt in the microwave, using 50% power and stirring every 40 to 60 seconds. Set aside to cool slightly.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large mixing bowl, using a handheld electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Reduce the mixer speed and add the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla and melted chocolate. By hand or using the lowest speed of the mixer, stir in the flour and salt.
5. Scrape all but about 1 cup of the chocolate batter into the prepared pan and smooth it out. Spread the cream cheese filling over the chocolate mixture. Spoon the remaining chocolate batter over the cream cheese mixture. Pull a table knife through the layers of batter with a light lifting motion to create a marbled look.
6. Bake for about 50 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan, then chill for a few hours, or if you have the time, overnight. Lift the foil from the pan, set on a cutting board, peel back the foil, and cut with a chef's knife into 16 squares.

I never usually use foil, just baking cooking spray

Last step in the making the filling

Exploding!

Thoughts: The biggest thing that I did differently from the recipe was using a 8x8 pan instead of a 9x9.  I don't have one and thought it was stupid to buy a pan just for this cookie (even though I did buy an angel food cake pan for the 2 co-workers that request that cake every year).  This recipe would be better suited for a 9x9 or even a 11x7.  I made the cooking time longer (60 minutes to account for the difference and was worried that the brownie part was undercooked). I also didn't create the marble look just because I forgot about it.  I put it in the fridge overnight and the center imploded in the morning.  These are definitely the best "cookie" so far. We LOVED them!