Cream Cheese anyone?

I love bagels and cream cheese. I'm from Jersey, it is required.  Cream cheese has now migrated from one of my favorite breakfasts to my favorite desserts.  I made two things tonight for the last of our holiday parties.  Espresso Cheesecake Brownies again since Hubs requested them and a new one Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough DIP. Yes Dip. O-MY-GAWD. I am in-love.

After 6 years or so, my kitchen and I have come to an understanding.  We are no longer mortal enemies.  I discussed the recipe with my crooked oven and it agreed to let me make this and it not turn out like my crooked Banana Bread that burns on one side [if I forget to rotate it a few times during the baking process.]  I live in a condo built in the 80's that was designed for 3 season 'slope side' living.
So this morning I was ALL set to start baking, the girls took simultaneous naps [JOY] so I had about an hour to do the betty crocker thing.  I pulled out my ingredients from my pantry [my pantry consists of one of those re-usable shopping bags hung on the door handle to my washer and dryer closet.] Got out my cookbook and realized I have no sour cream. I need more brown sugar & more cream cheese. CRAaaaap.
That pretty much blew my motivation for the day.  Gotta wait for Hubs to pick some up on his way home from work. Oh and its snowing so it should take him even longer to get home than usual. Sigh.

Hubs picked up everything I needed from the store, got home in record time AND brought me home a treat from Chocolate Mecca. Godiva.  I am a chocolate freak. I admit it. I have a keychain tag for the Godiva store. Hey, they allow you one free piece of chocolate from the case a month. Its FREE!
I love my Hubs.  Some days he is just awesome.  He knows I would rather have one piece of their chocolate over an entire box of that Russel Stover Crap.
Anyhow, we had a no-fail dinner,  got the girls in bed and then I got to betty crocker the kitchen up.
I started with the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip.  Honestly I could have stopped there.  'Tasted' until I exploded and called it a night but alas, I posted photos [on Facebook] of my EC Brownies at Christmas and promised already to make them so I have to live up to expectations.

I found this recipe for CCC dip from Baking and Creating with Avril. Thanks I will be making this one often!!  My photographic talent took a major snooze while I took this animal cracker shot. I have two girls under 2 years old, its past my bed time and animal crackers were the first thing I grabbed. Sue me. I tastes good, that's all that matters. Oh and my 30+ year old cousin said, "...the more I eat this, the more I realize- this is da bomb." I served the dip with graham crackers. btw.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough DIP

1 Stick unsalted butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 (8 0z.) package of cream cheese
1/2 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

In a small saucepan over medium heat melt butter with brown sugar.  Stir constantly until the brown sugar has dissolved.   Remove from heat and then whisk in vanilla extract.  Set saucepan aside and cool.
Beat together cream cheese and powdered sugar while butter/brown sugar mixture is cooling.
Slowly beat in cooled butter/brown sugar mixture into the cream cheese mixture.  Beat for a full minute on medium speed then with a wooden spoon or plastic spatula gently stir in mini chocolate chips.
Pour dip into a serving bowl and refrigerate.  Garnish with more mini chips before serving if you wish.  Serve dip with cookies of your choice - graham cracker sticks or vanilla wafers go great with this dip!

Ahh now the Espresso Cheese Cake Brownies.  I could SO use some espresso to keep me awake now.  I've just remembered why I didn't post this recipe christmas time. It's kinda long.
Here is where I found the recipe originally. Life In a Peanut Shell Blog It's a Dorie Greenspan recipe.  Dorie, my sincere apologies but I totally cheated.  I used a boxed brownie mix.  I'm far from a master chef and my oven sucks.  Forgive me please?

 There's my pretty sour cream flower in the cheesecake mix. Ain't it perrdddy?

 I never took photos of my brownie mix, ya'll know what brownie mix looks like.  My swirlies however were noteworthy enough.  Even after 10 p.m. I still retain some skills.  After 11 p.m. however, well. just. forget it. I don't know why I don't save this blog post for monday... whatev.

 I also had a panic moment where I thought I should make an un-chocolate dessert, just in case,  for the 'older' folks and those ridiculous dieting people... So remember that apple crumb topping, add a box of yellow cake and one of my new baking pans I got for xmas.  I thought, why not try it as a loaf as well.

Cake pan= win. Loaf pan= fail. 

The crumb topping sunk, it was like a lava cake but with brown sugar. Not exactly what I had in mind. I mean we ate it anyway, it wasn't baaad but it wasn't exactly great.

After the christmas batch of EC Brownies in the little pyrex dishes worked so well, I figured the larger dish would too!  I did forget to have Hubs pick up more parchment paper. Doh. Hope the tinfoil peels well tomorrow before I coat them with the sour cream glaze.  Note from first attempt, when top starts to crack, its done.  No one will really see the swirlies after the glaze is on so if you're not up for it then don't loose sleep.  If you ever worked part time as a barista making latttes then the swirlies are an accomplishment worth sharing.  Well that's all for now folks.  I'll make add the final details in my next post, or whenever I feel like it.