Brownies gone nuts...

Those who have tried one know it: there's comfort in a brownie. Cream cheese brownies could save the world. They are a secret weapon. That's why the recipe must be shared so that everyone can make their own.


Creamy M&Ms Brownies:

For the basics, I used a recipe by Nigella Lawson and then adapted it. I had a ton of M&Ms at home that I wanted to make use of. How about sticking them into a brownie, I thought. It turned out to be a good idea :-)

125g dark chocolate
125g butter
200g sugar
2 eggs
1 sachet vanilla sugar (20g)
75g flour
a pinch of salt

200g cream cheese (Philadelphia)
1 egg yolk
about 20g sugar and a pinch of vanilla sugar (depending on how sweet you want the batter to be...)
about 140g M&Ms, chopped (I did that with this.)

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a brownie tin (18x23cm) with parchment paper.

In a bowl, mix cream cheese, egg yolk, sugar and chopped M&Ms and set aside.

Over low heat, melt butter and chocolate in a little pan and let cool a bit. Beat sugar and the eggs until pale and fluffy. Add vanilla sugar. Add the molten chocolate and mix well. Sieve in flour and salt and mix. Once the batter is smooth, pour into your prepared brownie tin.

Scatter cream cheese batter onto that with a spoon. With a fork, spread the batter a little and create swirls so that you get a marble effect.

Put into the oven and bake for about 20 - 25 minutes until the top is crispy and shiny but the inside is still moist. Let cool and then, cut into slices.

You can enjoy them fresh from the oven, or cooled... both ways, they are heavenly. The good thing about cream cheese brownies is that they can be kept in the fridge for about a week or so. I personally like them even better after one or two days.