Cream Cheese Icebox Brownies

So this is probably just me being totally high maintenance.

I’m not usually a high maintenance person. When it comes to chocolate though? All bets are off. You see, I have some opinions about how I want to enjoy my chocolate. Milk chocolate is only acceptable if there is peanut butter involved. Dark chocolate is the best, unless we’re making cookies (then it has to be semisweet). Chocolate as a beverage? Never. Ever. Going to happen. Just… yuck.

I tell you all of this to let you know that you can eat these cream cheese brownies any way you want. But at my house? They’re coming straight out of the freezer. Yes I tried some straight out of the oven because the house smelled like brownies and I haaaad to. They were good, with a deep chocolate flavor and a fluffy crumb. After they cooled I put them in the freezer so I wouldn’t eat an entire pan of brownies sitting around. When I went to pull one out a few days later I discovered that frozen brownies are where it’s at. At least with this recipe.

You see, chocolate tastes different at different temperatures. That’s just science. So that deep, dark, almost coffee chocolate flavor the brownies had when they came out of the oven? Totally sweetened up in the freezer. The cream cheese is a super bonus because guess what – it pretty much turns into ice cream. Now you have a brownie and ice cream and you’re going to Disney Land. Or something like that.

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Cream Cheese Icebox Brownies

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

45 mins

Total Time

55 mins

 

Deeply chocolate brownies, taken to the next level with cream cheese and a trip to the freezer!

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: 9

Calories: 598 kcal

Ingredients

• 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 5 large eggs
• 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened and whipped with a little heavy cream if desired

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Butter an 8x8 inch baking pan.
2. Melt the chocolate, butter, and brown sugar in a large sauce pan over low heat. Remove from the heat, add the vanilla and eggs and combine. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and whisk until smooth. Gently fold in spoonfuls of the cream cheese, allowing it to marble the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs clinging.
3. Allow the brownies to cool before slicing into bars. Place bars in a sturdy zip top bag and store in the freezer. Allow to freeze at least two hours before enjoying straight from the cold.

Recipe Notes

Adapted from Mast Brothers Chocolate: A Family Cookbook

 

Nutrition Facts

Cream Cheese Icebox Brownies

Amount Per Serving

Calories 598 Calories from Fat 324

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 36g 55%

Saturated Fat 21g 105%

Cholesterol 147mg 49%

Sodium 350mg 15%

Potassium 371mg 11%

Total Carbohydrates 62g 21%

Dietary Fiber 3g 12%

Sugars 50g

Protein 7g 14%

Vitamin A 15.9%

Vitamin C 0%

Calcium 10.4%

Iron 19.4%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.