A quiet Christmas week~

                                                  
This Christmas
will be a quiet one for Andy and me.  Beth, Mike, and Nate are going to visit Adam out west for a ski week during Christmas week.  As they get back Andy, Joe, Glenda and I leave for Florida for a little over a month.  Ahhh, the beach.  So I am free of cooking and planning and rushing.

I am doing some baking to take to David, JD, and Johnna in Florida.  They miss the Christmas hub-bub and sweet treats.

I will keep adding to this post as things progress, but for now it is short and sweet.  Merry Christmas.    


                                            

Christmas breakfast for Santa and all.

From La table de Nana


I'll likely never forget the first time I ate cream cheese brownies.  I taught school (for thirty years) and we had bake sales.  As I was searching the table one sale for something delicious I spotted cream cheese brownies--a half dozen of them which I ate on the way home from school while driving.

Cheesecake Brownies
One 9-inch (23cm) or 8-inch (20cm) square pan

Adapted from Ready for Dessert (Ten Speed)

For those of you who like higher brownies, use an 8-inch pan.

• 6 tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 4 ounces (115g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 2/3 cup (130g) sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup (70g) flour
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (80g) chocolate chips
• 8 ounces (200g) cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 large egg yolk
• 5 tablespoons (75g) sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Line a 9-inch (23cm) or 8-inch (20cm) square pan with foil, making sure it goes up all four sides. Use two sheets if necessary. Mist with non-stick spray or grease lightly.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (180C).

3. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and chocolate over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and beat in the 2/3 cup (130g) sugar, then the eggs.

4. Mix in the flour, cocoa powder and salt, then the vanilla and chocolate chips. Spread evenly in the prepared pan.

5. In a separate bowl, beat together the cream cheese, the yolk, 5 tablespoons (75g) of sugar, and vanilla until smooth.

6. Distribute the cream cheese mixture in eight dollops across the top of the brownie mixture, then take a dull knife or spatula and swirl the cream cheese mixture with the chocolate batter.

7. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the batter in the center of the pan feels just set.

Let cool, then lift out the foil and peel it away. Cut the brownies into squares.

Storage: These will keep in an airtight container for a couple of days. They also freeze well, too.

From the blog of David Lebovitz