Cream-Cheese Swirl Brownie
I accidentally bought an extra container of cream cheese a couple of weeks ago (for another project that I never accomplished), and had been brainstorming what baked good to use it in. I have yet to make brownies this entire year, and while surfing the countless recipes I have saved on my computer, I knew I had to make Smitten Kitchen's particular brownie.
Like every other baked good I have made, these barely survived the night. There were three when I checked the plate in the morning. Maybe, you all noticed a trend with my housemates?
I can't blame them, since I ate a few of these myself. I love it when you bake the frosting simultaneously with the baked good, just like I did with my Black Bottom Cupcakes for Valentine's Day.
These brownies are rich with chocolate, but balance beautifully with the cream cheese frosting. My "swirl" on top did not come out as pretty as I would have liked. Also, I added white chocolate chips on top, and they seemed to disappear as I baked these brownies, doing nothing but adding some extra chocolate-y flavor. If you want to cut squares without having droopy cream cheese, as you may notice in the photos above, then definitely wait for them to cool (refrigeration is advised). These were delicious, and so far a big favorite in my house. Enjoy!
Cream-Cheese Swirl Brownies
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
*Smitten Kitchen calls these Cheesecake-Marbled Brownies, every time I said the word "cheesecake," people looked at me perplexed, hence why I call them Cream-Cheese Swirl Brownies.
Yields: 16 2-inch square, thick brownies
Ingredients:
For the Brownies:
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
For the Cream-Cheese:
8 ounces cream cheese, well softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Plus:
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Steps:
Make Brownie Batter:
1. Put oven rack in middle position, and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan (cooking spray is fine!)
3. Heat butter and chocolate in a 3- quart heavy saucepan, or double boiler style, over moderately low heat, whisking occasionally just until melted.
4. Remove from heat and whisk in sugar, eggs, vanilla and a pinch of salt until well combined.
5. Whisk in flour until just combined and spread in baking pan.
Make Cream-Cheese Batter:
1. Whisk together all cream-cheese ingredients in a small bowl until smooth.
2. Dollop over brownie batter, then swirl in with a knife or spatula.
Don't Forget!:
1. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top.
Bake 'em:
1.Bake until edges are slightly puffed and center is set, about 35 minutes.
2. Serve warm or at room temperature!
Slice 'em:
1. If you want them to look beautiful like Smitten Kitchen's refrigerate brownies until almost frozen before cutting them. If you are like me, waiting at least 15 minutes and then cut them (or less), and gobble them up while they are warm. However, I will say I loved these cold (I refrigerated half of the batch). It's your preference!
What I Did Differently:
1. I melted my butter (college students do not have time to wait around for it to soften!).
2. I used semi-sweet chocolate chips (college students do not have it in their budget to buy nicer chocolate!).
3. I put white chocolate chips on top of my brownies, in addition I just eyeballed the amount of semi-sweet chips to use. Put as many as you so desire (minus white chocolate, it doesn't add anything to the brownies!).
4. See "Slice 'em" above for how I cut these up!
