Fudgey Cream Cheese Brownies

I wasn't excited about this recipe. It was for the Geologist. Not that I dreaded it, I just expected to serve him these brownies, have him ooo and aaahh and send the rest to work with him. But of course, I have to try these, so I can describe them to you, right?? So of course, I did.

I repent of my disinterest.

Fudgey Cream Cheese Brownies (adapted slightly from Cooks Illustrated)
Printable Recipe

2/3 cup flour (yep, you read that right!)
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder
2 oz bittersweet chocolate
4 oz semisweet chocolate
1 stick unsalted butter (1/2 cup)
1¼ cups sugar
2½ tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs
8 oz package of cream cheese, room temperature
1 egg yolk

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Whisk flour, salt, and baking powder together in a small bowl and set aside. Butter/grease an 8 inch square baking pan (I used glass), then line with foil. Make sure to leave enough extra foil on 2 sides to lift the brownies out using the foil as a sling. Make sense? Grease the foil too.

Chop all chocolate as fine as you can. Place in a large, glass, microwave safe bowl and add the butter. Microwave for 30 seconds, remove from microwave, and stir briskly . Return to microwave for 20 more seconds. Remove and stir. Repeat 1 more time, and stir until all chocolate is melted and smooth. Whisk in 1 cup of the sugar, and 2 tsp of the vanilla. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking well after each, until completely smooth. Add dry ingredients and whisk until just combined.

In a small bowl, beat cream cheese with remaining ¼ cup sugar, ½ teaspoon vanilla, and egg yolk until smooth and creamy.

Pour half the brownie batter into prepared pan. Drop half the cream cheese mixture, by spoonfuls, over batter. (I probably should have made smaller blobs...)

Smooth the spoonfuls of cream cheese out a bit, so you can pour the other half of the batter over the top. Drop the remaining cream cheese on top by spoonfuls again, and swirl through the batter, using the blade of a knife or chopstick or something.

Tap the pan on the counter a few times to settle the batter.

Bake for 50-60 minutes, until edges of brownies have puffed slightly, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with fudgey crumbs on it. Batter means not done, no crumbs means oops!! Overdone! 

Cool brownies completely in pan on wire rack. Refrigerate for a few hours before serving. Use foil sling handles to lift brownies from pan, then cut into squares and serve. Keep leftovers covered and in the fridge.

These are hands-down, the best brownies I have ever had. Not to mention the best cream cheese brownies!! They are dangerous. I took a bite, he took a bite, and we just stared at each other. I'm pretty sure he closed his eyes and took about 20 minutes to finish savoring his brownie. I had to get them out of the house, FAST, so even though The Geologist pouted, I sent them to a neighbor. Whew! Disaster averted!!

These are not the brownies you want straight out of the oven with a scoop of ice cream. If that's what you're looking for, move along. This is the child of brownies and fudge and cheesecake, all rolled into one! They have a perfect fudge-to-cheesecake ratio, they're dark and creamy and amazing.

They're thick, and rich, and smooth, and decadent, and sinful, and all of those awesome words for the kinds of desserts you REALLY should not be eating. Or at least not more than one.

This was the most amazing chocolate anything I have tasted in a long, long time. I will make these again. And I will eat them. And I will not share them with the kids. (Okay, maybe I will...if they're really good)

Shared at Foodie Fridays