Recipe: Cream Cheese Brownies (with nuts) and Cream Cheese Brownies (using cake mix) for Linda

CREAM CHEESE BROWNIES

FOR THE CREAM CHEESE LAYER:
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 egg yolk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon flour
FOR THE BROWNIE LAYER:
5 tablespoons sweet butter
5 ounces semisweet chocolate or bittersweet chocolate
2 eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2-1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup coarsely chopped nuts

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease a square 8x8-inch pan.

TO MAKE THE CREAM CHEESE LAYER:
Put the cream cheese in a mixer bowl and mix with the paddle attachment until it's smooth. Add the rest of the cream cheese layer ingredients, beating well and scraping down and of the batter that dares try to escape up the sides of the bowl. Set aside

TO MAKE THE BROWNIE LAYER:
Melt the butter and the chocolate together until smoothly melted. Put aside and let come to room temperature.

In a separate bowl from the cream cheese mixture, mix the eggs and the sugar until it's thick and a gorgeous lemon color. Add the chocolate mixture and mix well until combined. Again, scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the flour, vanilla, baking powder, salt and the chocolate chips, mix well until combined.

TO ASSEMBLE AND BAKE:
Pour half the chocolate mixture into the prepared pan. Dollop the cream cheese mixture over that. Don't worry if it doesn't cover the chocolate. It won't. Add the remaining chocolate mixture. Take a knife and gently draw it through the batters, from left to right and from top to bottom, making a checkerboard pattern. Don't allow the mixtures to combine, be careful. Sprinkle with the nuts.

Bake in the oven until the sides, but not the tops, begin to brown, about 25 to 30 minutes. Don't wait until a tester comes out clean, if you do then you have overbaked and basically murdered the brownies. Set aside to cool for about 10 minutes, cut into 12 or 16 brownies, cover and refrigerate

Makes 16 slices
Adapted from Source: Mirj

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CREAM CHEESE BROWNIES

FOR THE BOTTOM LAYER:
1 box yellow cake mix
1 stick (1/2 cup) margarine, softened
1 egg
FOR THE TOP LAYER:
1 (1 lb) box powdered sugar
1 egg
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Spray a 13x9 pan with non-stick cooking spray (butter flavor).

Mix all ingredients in bottom layer. Mash into bottom of pan until it is spread evenly. (Bottom layer is very thick).

Mix top layer's ingredients. Spread into pan on top of bottom layer.

Bake at 300 degrees F until edges start to brown (up to 45 minutes or more). It may help to place a pan of water on the rack below your brownies while they are in the oven baking.

Cool, then cut.

Adapted from a recipe by: MsMaam, Louisiana/United States