My New Hand Mixer

For those of you who don't know, I used to be the Brownie King of Glendale. How I became the King is an epic story of glory that I won't bother you with. Just take my word for it...I used to be the King...used to be...

After years away from the throne, I am formally announcing a coup to regain sovereignty over the brownie kingdom.

With a new hand mixer and brownie cookbook in hand, I've begun my re-ascension to the crown. My Aunt Maggie bought me a great hand mixer for Christmas, so I'll be trying it out today with a new brownie recipe for marbled chocolate cheesecake brownies. Mmmmm...

Nobody said regaining the crown would be easy. Admittedly, these marbled chocolate cheesecake brownies came out a little dry. IMO, the most critical part of cooking brownies is removing them from the oven at the proper time. I believe that there is an optimal cooking time for making the brownies soft, chewy and delicious...I did not take these brownies out at that time. Also, I used glass pans, which held the heat too long as well (IMO). You live and learn, so heed my warnings in the recipe below.

Eventually, I, the king, will return triumphantly. The only real question is, what type of brownie will I try to conquer next?

Greg

The mixer is used for the first time:

Special surprise feature!

-Marbled chocolate cheesecake brownies

-Recipe/Instructions:

This is the exact recipe I used, courtesy of the Blissful Brownies cookbook (http://www.amazon.com/Blissful-Brownies/dp/1405491272) given to me for Christmas by my Aunt Maggie. *Note: I'm a teacher, and the republication of this recipe is intended for educational purposes only. :P

"Brownies: 6 oz butter, 3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa, 1 cup sugar, 2 eggs, 1 cup flour

Topping: 1 cup ricotta cheese, 3 tbsp sugar, 1 egg

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease an 11 x 7 cake pan.

Melt the butter in a medium pan, remove from the heat, and stir in the unsweetened cocoa and sugar. Beat in the eggs, then add the flour, and stir to mix evenly. Pour into the prepared pan.

For the cheesecake mix, beat together the ricotta, sugar, and egg, then drop teaspoonfuls of the mixture over the chocolate mixture. use a metal spatula to swirl the two mixtures lightly together.

Bake for 40-45 minutes [Greg says 35-40] until just firm to the touch. Cool in the pan, then cut into squares or bars."

The amount of "cheesecake" topping made in the recipe is too much to allow "marbling." I suggest making half the amount described in the recipe. Do not use all of the topping, but use about six-8 tsp sized dollops. Otherwise, it will be more of a solid topping than a marbled one. It also makes it difficult to perform the toothpick test for moistness, so trust in your timer and intuition. Enjoy!