Double Fudge Cream Cheese Brownies

This is one of the very first brownie recipes I remember making from scratch that I still bake to this day. I think I probably discovered this recipe in my early college days or thereabouts, around the same time I found the lemon bar recipe and from the same cookbook. I'd said I wasn't a big fan of cream cheese and this recipe has just 3 ounces of it - perfect :). The thing to watch for with this recipe and any other brownie recipe that's baked in a 9 x 13 pan is the baking time. With this size pan, it's so easy to overbake the edges and corners while waiting for the middle to bake. Just keep an eye on it. You'll know it's done when a toothpick inserted in the corner comes out clean and one inserted in the middle comes out with moist crumbs but not raw batter.

I made these again tonight to freeze and use throughout the week - work meetings, social gatherings and possibly to bring down to Southern CA this weekend when my parents and I make the drive down for Thanksgiving week. In fact, this is pretty much going to be brownie baking week since brownies are so versatile and travel well.
Double Fudge Cream Cheese Brownies from Land O Lakes Treasury of Country Recipes - made 11.15.09

Brownies:
1 cup butter
4 ozs unsweetened chocolate
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Filling
¼ cup sugar
2 tbsp butter, softened
3-oz package cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1 tbsp flour
½ teaspoon vanilla

1. Heat oven to 350˚F.
2. In a 2-quart saucepan, combine 1 cup butter and unsweetened chocolate. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until melted (4-6 minutes). Stir in remaining brownie ingredients except chocolate chips. Fold in chocolate chips. Spread half of batter into greased 9” x 13” baking pan.
3. In small bowl, stir together all filling ingredients. Spread over brownie mixture. Spoon remaining batter over cream cheese (batter will not entirely cover cream cheese mixture). Bake for 30-35 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan.