Cream Cheese Brownies

This recipe for Cream Cheese Brownies is a total keeper! Yeah, you may have to go to the gym the next day after eating a bunch of them... but they're totally worth it. Trust me! The first batch I ever made I didn't have any pecans or walnuts, but they're so delicious it didn't matter. I made these while performing in an Aida production in Virginia and ended up giving most of them away to the dancers in the show (I figured they all had a faster metabolism than I did and could burn them off faster - they're ridiculously athletic, ya know!) Like a school of piranhas during a feeding frenzy, they devoured these in just a few minutes. I knew right then and there that it wasn't just me, these brownies are crazy good!




Cream Cheese Brownies

Ingredients:

* You're going to have two different types of batter in this recipe - your brownie batter and your cream cheese batter. Make separately, then blend right before baking them.

The Brownie Batter

2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
6 tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups self-rising flour

The Cream Cheese Batter

1 stick of butter, softened
1/2 cup of sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1 package (8 ounces) of cream cheese, softened.



Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2. In a bowl, blend together ingredients for the brownie batter (sugar, oil, eggs, cocoa, and vanilla.) Add flour and mix.

3. In another bowl, blend together ingredients for the cream cheese batter (butter, cream cheese, sugar, eggs, pecans, and flour). Mix well.

4. In a grease 13 x 9 baking dish pour half of the brownie batter in.

5. Next, slowly pour in all of the cream cheese batter in the pan on top of the brownie batter.

6. Pour the rest of the brownie batter in the pan.

7. With a knife, slowly swirl the cream cheese and the brownie batter together. Careful not blend them too well... you want some separation between the two.

8. Add a few pecans on top, place in oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.