Recipe Recap: Cream Cheese Brownies

About a year ago, I was heading out Subway after my normal Wednesday lunch date with a turkey mini and my People magazine when a state trooper who was standing in line stopped me and asked if I worked out at the Y on Holly Springs Road.  Being the trustworthy person I am, I admitted to this complete stranger that yes, he could in fact find me there most evenings.

I admit that I didn’t recognize him from the Y but after that chance encounter, I saw him around a few times.  We’d say a polite hello on our way to or from an elliptical machine, but we actually didn’t have any real conversations until much later in the year, probably early fall.  He mentioned that he leads a CrossFit class at the Cary Y on Friday mornings but of course I’m at work when that’s happening.  So he suggested that I join him and another woman that he’s been working out with for a while for a partner workout, and I decided I didn’t have anything to lose so we met up one evening and had a fantastic boot camp-like workout.

Since that workout, I’ve had two other sessions with him and they were both hard and painful and awesome.  He does this because he enjoys it so I can’t offer him money in return for his time, but he once mentioned loving cheesecake so I figured I could trade him a baked good for his efforts.

I needed something that would travel okay, didn’t necessarily have to be refrigerated, and wouldn’t get messed up if the container were tipped back and forth.  These Cream Cheese Brownies fit all those requirements.

I have absolutely nothing against boxed brownie mixes, but there is something special about brownies made from scratch.  The brownie layer in this dessert was very easy to make, really not much more to it than using a boxed mix.

It was fun to marble the little bit of saved brownie batter with the cream cheese layer.

This looks like a complicated dessert with the layers so you’ll win points for the extra effort (shh, no one has to know), but it was very easy to make and it was DEE-licious!

I think I’ve mentioned before that I fall into the fudgy brownie camp.  You people and your cakelike brownies just stay on your side of the line; I don’t want any of what you’re sellin’.

These weren’t my favorite until about 48 hours after they’d baked and the flavors marinated together in the fridge.  So if these brownies look like something you want to make, keep in mind that you may want to make them well ahead of time.

I used the brownie part of this recipe for another dessert, and I think I’m going to use it again this week for a birthday treat for my neighbor. 

Don’t get me wrong, I won’t forgo Duncan Hines, Betty Crocker, and Ghiradelli all together in favor of from-scratch brownies.  But it’s nice to have a go-to recipe in my collection.

{Recipe here}