A few weeks ago we created one of our favorite cookies, Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies which then led to Ice Cream Sandwiches, both delicious desserts. Someone then asked if we could make some brownies for a day party and I thought back to growing up and the cream cheese that would be mixed into brownies to bring them up a notch. I added butterscotch morsels for another layer of flavor. I think what makes these fudge brownies so good is the quality of the ingredients, from bourbon vanilla to the cocoa powder. It’s a little more expensive but the food is exponentially tastier.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces of cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 1/4 cup of sugar, seperated
- 4 extra large eggs, room temperature
- 1 1/2 teaspoon of good vanilla extract, separated
- 6 tablespoons of brown unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter to crease the baking pan
- 1/4 good unsweetened cocoa powder, I prefer Ghirardelli premium baking cocoa
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon of instant coffee (this really wakes up the chocolate)
- 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
- 9 ounces of semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 1 cup of butterscotch morsels
Making It
- Turn the oven to 350 degrees, butter a 8×8″ baking pan, cover it with parchment paper and then butter the paper
- Sift the cornstarch, cocoa powder and salt into a bowl then whisk in the coffee grounds, set aside
- Fit the KitchenAid mixer with the whisk attachment, add the cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar and mix until smooth, add the egg and vanilla until fully incorporated then put in a bowl and set aside. clean the mixing bowl and whisk
- Take a pot and add three inches of water, bring to a boil then lower to a medium simmer, put a colander over the top of the bowl, then a heat-proof dish in it so the steam warms the dish, add 6 tablespoons of butter that have been diced and then add the chopped chocolate and melt, stirring frequently
- Put the melted chocolate into the mixing bowl fitted with the whisk attachment and set the speed to medium, add 1 cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon of the vanilla until fully incorporate, add the eggs one at a time then the cocoa/ cornstarch mix until it all comes together in a chocolate mix. Remove from the mixer and fold in the butterscotch morsels
- Put the chocolate mix into the baking pan then plop the cream cheese mix on down and swirl it into the batter with a spatula
- Bake for at least 35-40 minutes on the middle rack, if you insert a toothpick in and it comes out clean then it is done
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