Raspberry Fudge Brownies

I know, you thought I would never return to you again! Between a job change, and general life busyness, I feel like I've been in a hole for a year! But I have a treat for you today. These are truly the best brownies I've ever had. My go-to recipe when making something for an event.

Chocolate Raspberry Brownies

Ingredients Edit and Save
Original recipe makes 32 brownies (ish)

        Brownie mix
 1 cup white sugar
 2 eggs
 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
 1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
 1/4 teaspoon salt
 1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips
         Ganache
 1/2 cup evaporated milk
 1 egg yolk
 4 (1 ounce) squares semisweet baking chocolate, chopped
         Raspberry Topping
 6 ounces cream cheese, softened
 2 tablespoons seedless raspberry jam
 1 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed
 2 drops red food coloring (optional)

 16 chocolate curls (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line an 8 inch square baking pan with aluminum foil.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the sugar, 2 whole eggs, and vanilla until combined. Mix in butter. In another bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt; stir into butter mixture, mixing just until incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool pan on wire rack.
4. Whisk together the evaporated milk and egg yolk in a small saucepan. Heat over medium low, stirring constantly, until the mixture is very hot and thickens slightly; do not boil. Place the 4 ounces of chopped semisweet chocolate in a medium bowl, and slowly pour in the hot milk. Stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Pour the filling over the cooled brownies; refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.
5. Beat the cream cheese with the raspberry jam in a large bowl until smooth. Fold in the whipped topping, and add the food coloring if desired. Top the cooled brownies with the frosting, using a cake comb to create a design. Cut brownies into 16 squares, then cut each square in half diagonally to form triangles. Garnish with chocolate curls if desired.

When it comes to baking, I try not to branch out too much. But I have tried this with more cream cheese (8 oz instead of 6 oz), using milk chocolate chips instead of baker's chocolate for the ganache (I wouldn't recommend it - the filling didn't harden and was just soupy even after refrigeration), and adding regular sized chocolate chips to the brownie batter (this turned out just fine). 

The ganache takes about 10-15 minutes to get to the right consistency, and make sure you watch it closely at the end. I have let it go too long, and it gets kind of chunky. I still used it that time and it turned out ok, but it looks weird. 

Lemon Cheesecake Squares

You are about to be inundated with lemon recipes. ;) The papa-in-law LOVES lemon desserts, and as June host the holiday known as Father's Day, lemon abounds in the Hunt household at this time of year. These are DEFINITELY a keeper recipe, and are great for a large group of people.

Lemon Cheesecake Squares

        Ingredients
Makes ~20 servings

 3/4 cup shortening
 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
 1 cup rolled oats
 1/4 teaspoon salt
 1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
FILLING:
 4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
 1 1/2 cups sugar
 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
 4 eggs
 1/3 cup lemon juice
 4 teaspoons grated lemon peel

      Directions

1) In a mixing bowl, cream shortening and brown sugar. Combine the flour, oats and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture. Press dough into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. bake at 350 degrees F for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. Spread with jam.

2) For filling, beat the cream cheese, sugar and flour until fluffy. Add the eggs, lemon juice and peel just until blended. Carefully spoon over jam. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until center is almost set.

3) Cool on a wire rack. Cover and store in the refrigerator.

   I'll be honest...baking is not my strong suit. I much prefer cooking, so when it comes to baking, I stick pretty close to the recipe, afraid that any changes I make will cause it not set, or rise, or whatever it's supposed to do. ;) So for realsies, this is a "follow as directed". (ok, except for I did add a dash of lemon extract to the cheesecake part, as it need a smidge more lemon.)  I used 3 lemons for the juice and zest, and that seemed about right when I measured it out. 

    The raspberry provides a nice foil, keeping the cheesecake part from being too lemony, and the crust isn't overly sweet, providing a nice clean balance. I recommend using a knife run under hot water (frequently!) when cutting the bars to avoid the cheesecake clumping on the knife. A resounding yes from this household, and hopefully from yours too.