Zebra Brownies

Whew! Memorial Day weekend was a busy one for me! We pretty much went non-stop, but I did manage to do a bit of baking. ;) Of course, as in all my baking ventures, something wasn't quite right. I did make sure and read the entire recipe before beginning this time, but the problem came in when I thought I had an entire 8 oz. block of cream cheese in the fridge only to discover it was only half a block. For the life of me I can't remember where I used the other 4 oz. So, I had to scale down the cream cheese part of the Zebra Brownies I was making. They still tasted great even if they weren't that pretty.

Let me begin by saying I am VERY picky about my brownies. I don't like the edge pieces because they tend to be crunchy and/or chewy. I like the middle ones best. I want a gooey, fudgy brownie. I would take an undercooked brownie over a hard one. This brownie batter was really thick, but the brownies came out wonderfully gooey and perfect! And if I had enough cream cheese they would have been even better.

Also, next time I will not do the part where it says to drop spoonfuls of batter over the top of the cream cheese mixture. This batter is way too thick for that and swirling just doesn't work out so well. I think it would be better to just put all the batter in the dish, then top with the cream cheese mixture and swirl.

ZEBRA BROWNIES
Source: http://www.recipelink.com/mf/14/22403 (my comments in italics)

FOR THE BROWNIES:
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups flour
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
3 eggs
6 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. vanilla

FOR THE FILLING:
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bottom only of 13x9 inch pan. (I sprayed the entire pan with cooking spray)

Combine all brownie ingredients and mix well (about 1 minute on high speed). Set aside.

In small bowl blend all filling ingredients together at medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute.

Spread 1/2 of brownie batter in prepared pan. Pour filling mixture over batter, spreading to cover. Place spoonfuls of remaining batter on top of filling. Marble by pulling knife through batter in wide curves, then turn pan and repeat. (This is where I would omit the spoonfuls of batter on top)

Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes. (30 minutes was perfect for gooey brownies)

Cool. Then refrigerate at least 2 hours before cutting. Cover tightly and store in refrigerator.