Christmas Cookies

[Bambi_Hassenpfeffer]

@DeVena

Good god, Bambi. I think I’m in love.

Alrighty, here you go:

Holy Hell Brownies

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter,
3 ounces semisweet chocolate
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon fine salt
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
6 oz mini semisweet chocolate chips

Cream Cheese Marble:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 by 12-inch baking pan with parchment paper, so that the edges of the paper come up the sides. Lightly butter the paper.

Put both the semisweet and unsweetened chocolates and the butter in a micro-safe medium bowl. put the bowl in the microwave at half power for one minute, remove, stir, and put it back in the micro for another minute at half-power. Stir until the butter and chocolate turn into a glossy fudge sauce (N.B., doing this with all sweetened chocolate and less butter makes a fantastic hot fudge sauce)

Whisk the flour and salt in a bowl.

In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Stir the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture until smooth. Add the dry ingredients (except the mini chips) and mix until just blended. Take care not to over mix the batter. Fold in the mini chips. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan.

For the marble swirl: Soften the cream cheese in the microwave for about 45 seconds at half power. Whisk the cream cheese with the sugar, egg, and vanilla until smooth.

Drop very large spoonfuls of the cream cheese mixture onto the surface of the brownie batter. Insert a butter knife through the batter to the bottom of the pan. With the flat edge of the knife, make swirling motions through the batters, occasionally lifting the knife through the top, until the dark and light batters are marbled.

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out coated with a fudge-y crumb, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool the brownies in the pan on a rack.

To take the brownies out of the pan, lift the edges of the paper. Cut the brownies into squares. Serve.

Notes:

Don’t worry about getting the marble all perfect – after they eat them, they won’t care what they look like.

Also, don’t worry if they seem “not done” at first. The knife should have a little attached to it when you pull it out. When in doubt, I’ve just run it to 40 minutes. It’s hard to burn something with that much liquid in it.

[chaoticbear]

I’ve just made some oatmeal cookies, but I want to try either Bambi’s chocolate/mint pinwheels or C3’s mint chocolate crinkles. I love mint and chocolate together. **Bambi, ** think you can part with another recipe?

[C3]

Bambi, thank you…I’ll have to make New Year’s Brownies now! Mmmmmmm.

chaoticdonkey, here’s the recipe I made. I just ate four of them for Christmas breakfast.

Mint Chocolate Crinkles

2/3 c shortening
3/4 c sugar
1 c chocolate chips, melted and cooled
1/4 c light corn syrup
1 egg
1 tsp peppermint extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 c crushed hard peppermint candy
sugar for rolling

Beat the shortening until softened. Add 3/4 c sugar, beat well. Add chocolate and next 4 ingredients.
Combine the flour, soda and salt in a separate bowl. Stir in the chocolate mixture. Stir in peppermint candy.
Roll dough into 1" balls and roll the balls in the sugar, coating them. Baked on ungreased cookie sheets at 350 for 12-15 minutes.

[screech-owl]

I’ve been sick, so I am not baking anything until after the holidays (don’t want to get people at work sick, and besides, my cookie gun literally went “SPROING!!!” - never heard an actual object make a cartoon sound!).

Besides, I practice “Random Act of Cookie Day” all year round. Anytime I’m in a bad mood, I take it out on the eggs, butter, flour and anything within reach in the kitchen. The people at work appreciate it, I get feedback on new recipies, and it’s better than getting up with a hangover.

And now I have some new recipies I can eventually try out on the folks at work, crediting them to you folks. Of course, I can’t very well call them “Doper Cookies”. :eek:

Thanks, and Happy/Merry/Blessed <insert name of holiday here> to y’all and yours.

screech “looking ah-choooo” -owl