Cream Cheese Brownies

      
           I was reading a Christian, Amish, chick-lit book last week and one of the characters mentioned something about Cream Cheese Brownies. I thought, "hmm, that sounds really good!" So, yesterday I made some!Yummy! I had never heard of  Cream Cheese Brownies before last week, but finding a recipe online was super easy. I used the "Joy of Baking" recipe (http//:joyofbaking.com). I'm not much of a baker and found the brownies a little challenging to make, but not impossible, just more work than I like.
   

Brownie Layer Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces (I used salted butter, and left out the 1/4 teaspoon salt)
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped. (I didn't chop mine, simply melted the block)
1 1/4 cups granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

(Makes about 16- 2inch squares) 

Cream Cheese Layer Ingredients: 

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven: 325 degrees F
Place the rack in the center of oven
Have a 9x9 inch square backing pan lined with aluminum foil

In a stainless steel (heatproof) bowl placed over a sauce pan of simmering water, melt the better and chocolate. (I didn't have a stainless steel, heatproof bowl. So I filled a large skilled less than half way with water, then placed a medium size skilled inside the larger one. I have no idea if placing bowls inside each other with simmering water makes a difference in the ingredients, so that's what I did to compensate, instead of microwaving. When the water began to boil and heated the medium pan, I placed the butter and chocolate on the pan and stirred until melted. Honestly, it could have been a big waste of time ha-ha.)

Next, Remove from heat and stir in the sugar and vanilla extract. Add eggs and beat well. Then, stir in flour and salt. Mix until batter is smooth, glossy and comes away from the sides of the bowl/pan. Remove 1/2 cup of the brownie batter and set it aside. Spread the remainder of the batter evenly onto the bottom of the prepared pan.

Then, use a food processor or hand mixer ( I used a blender), and process the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar, vanilla and eggs. Process just until creamy and smooth. Spread the cream cheese filing evenly over the brownie layer. Spoon small dollops of the reserved brownie batter evenly on top of the cream cheese filling. Then with a table knife or wooden skewer, swirl the two batters without mixing them.

Bake for 25minutes or until brownies start to pull away from sides of the pan. Allow brownies to cool. Refrigerate until they are firm (at least 2 hours) (I only refrigerated mine for 1.5hrs and they were still soft. The next day when I tried another, after they'd been in the refrigerator all night, they tasted MUCH better and were firm.) Once chilled, remove the brownies from the pan by lifting foil and transfer to a cutting board. With a sharp knife, cut into 16 squares. It is a good idea to have a damp cloth nearby to wipe your knife between cuts. You can store brownies in refrigerator for several days.

This recipe was taken from JoyOfBaking.com (Whatever is in italics, is mine)