Cream Cheese–Hazelnut Brownies

By CheeseDiva

Ingredients

• FOR THE BATTER:
• 4 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup finely ground roasted hazelnuts
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
• 4 tbsp. butter
• 3/4 cup flour
• 2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped roasted hazelnuts

Details

Servings 16
Adapted from saveur.com

Preparation

Step 1

MAKES 16 BROWNIES

1. For the filling: Put cream cheese and sugar into a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add egg, lemon juice, and vanilla and continue beating until well mixed. Fold in hazelnuts with a rubber spatula. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

2. For the batter: Melt chocolate and butter together in the top of a double boiler set over a pan of simmering water over medium heat. Remove pan from heat and set aside.

4. Preheat oven to 350°. Put sugar, eggs, and vanilla into a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and pale yellow, about 2 minutes. Beat in melted-chocolate mixture, then add flour mixture and continue beating until mixture is smooth. Fold in hazelnuts with a rubber spatula.

I feel very sorry for the person who has been making these for 11 years. This is a sad excuse of a brownie. In fact, I don't think I can call this a brownie. It's cakey, and doesn't have much chocolate flavor. Brownies should be wet, fudgy, and have over the top chocolate flavor. These don't. Do yourself a favor and don't make these.

I've been making these for 11 years, since they were first in the magazine, and they're great--but instead of "chocolate morsels" use good quality bittersweet chocolate baking pastilles. If you use (as I think the recipe implies) chocolate chips, the batter is too stiff. They work well for catering, a triple recipe makes half a sheet-pan.