Coffee brownies with a twist (or swirl)

Coffee Cinnamon Cream Cheese Brownies
Maxwell House Coffee Drinks & Desserts Cookbook Copyright 1999

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter or margarine
4 squares (4 ounces) unsweetened chocolate
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
3 tbsp instant coffee
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Cream Cheese Topping:

1 pkg (8 ounces) Cream Cheese, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Prepare the brownie bottom:

Heat the oven to 350 F. Line a 13x9 inch baking pan with foil; lightly butter the foil.

Microwave the butter and chocolate in a large microwaveable bowl on high for 2 minutes or untill the butter has melted. Stir until the chocolate is completely melted.

Stir the sugar into the chocolate until well blended. Mix in the eggs, instant coffee, and vanilla. Stir in the flour until well blended. Spread the brownie batter in the prepared baking pan.

Prepare the Cream Cheese Topping:

Beat the cream cheese, sugar, egg, flour, and cinnamon in the same bowl until well blended. Spoon the mixture over the brownie batter. Swirl with a knife to marbleize.

Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with fudgy crumbs. (Do not OVERBAKE) Cool completly in the pan on a wire rack. Cut into squares. Store the leftover brownies in the refrigerator.

Makes 2 dozen brownies
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Most of my baked goods end up with my coworkers and since one of them is allergic to milk (he can handle butter, but other dairy products can lead to trouble) I rarely make anything with cream cheese. Since he was on vacation this week, I decided that I would pull out the cream cheese and of course I had trouble finding a recipe. It's like shopping for a plain black skirt. You think it will be so easy to find but then you can't find one anywhere.

I finally settled on this one. The brownie base of this recipe is almost the same as for the Coffee Brownies. This recipe has more coffee and a bit more flour. They were as solidly fudgy as the Coffee Brownies. These had a stronger coffee flavor but again I think you leave out the coffee without a problem, or cut down on the amount. You could leave out the cinnamon too and just have your basic one-bowl cream cheese swirl brownies which have always been a favorite of mine.

These went over well. I wasn't sure about the coffee-cinnamon twist on an old favorite but I loved it. It was like having a fancy coffee in brownie form.