Cream cheese brownies are ubiquitous here in New York. I love them, but find them to be often too sweet and one note. I love my brownies to be redolent of dark chocolate. In this recipe I use 70 % Valrhona, but any 70% dark chocolate will do. Also please search out a place where you can buy bulk chocolate. It's much cheaper than buying a bunch of fancy bars. Wholefoods sells it for about $14 a pound. Bakers chocolate would work in a pinch, use a combination of 3 to 1 - semi sweet and unsweetened.
Adult Bitter Sweet Chocolate Cheese Cake Brownies with Pecans
Preheat your oven to 350%
Line an 8" square pan (this makes 9 thick, rich brownies) with parchment paper and lightly butter it. The paper won't fit perfectly and will most likely buckle a bit, not to worry when you pour in the batter it will even out. You could also use recycled tin foil for this.
Melt 6 tablespoons of unsalted butter and 4 ounces of 70% chocolate chopped in a bowl and place over boiling water, stirring constantly until it melts, remove from heat.
Whisk in 1/2 cup plus 2 T of organic cane sugar and 2 large room temperature eggs, one at a time.
Stir in 1 T coca powder, 1/2 cup all purpose flour, 1/8 T salt, 1/2 cup lightly toasted and roughly chopped pecans and 1 teaspoon Bourbon.
Pour the batter into the prepared tin and set aside.
In a separate bowl whisk 8 ounces of room temperature cream cheese*, add 1 large egg yolk, 5T organic cane sugar and a splash of bourbon (no more then a teaspoon).
Mix well and then dollop in four large spoonfuls onto the brownie batter.
Using a dull butter knife or spatula swirl the cream cheese mixture into the brownie batter. Don't over do it, you want it to inter mingle so you have a nice swirl pattern.
Place in oven and cook until firm and the cream cheese has lightly browned, about 30 minutes or so.
Cool on a wrack. A wonderful accompaniment to a late afternoon coffee or perfect after dinner with a little bit of Makers Mark straight up to go along side.
* Cream Cheese note, for a real special treat , if you live in NYC buy Russ and Daughters. It is the best cream cheese on the planet! My favorite store bought cream cheese is Nancy's Cultured Cream Cheese.
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