Baileys Cream Cheese Marbled Brownies

Okay, so I promise I'll get back to posting healthier meal-related recipes soon.  I've just been working on a three-part series over at Foodwhirl and that has taken up a good portion of my time lately.  I got some great stuff in my produce box this week, though, so I'm planning on making some interesting dishes starting tomorrow.

Today, however, is St. Patrick's day, and I wanted to commemorate it with a yummy dessert.  I've already made Irish Car Bomb Bread Pudding this week, as well as my first attempt at macarons, so I certainly didn't need to make another sweet treat.  However, I took all the macarons to work (and oddly enough, they all got eaten), and the bread pudding didn't last long, either.  So, I decided to adapt my tried and true brownie recipe to fit the occasion.  Hey - I made it healthier by using whole-wheat flour, right?

1/4 cup Baileys Irish Cream

4 oz. cream cheese

1/2 stick butter (4 tablespoons)

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup whole-wheat flour

Begin by preheating your oven to 350F.  Line an 8x8 square baking dish with foil and spray with non-stick spray.  

Melt butter and chocolate in a saucepan over medium heat.  Set aside to cool.

Cream together the Baileys and cream cheese.  

In a separate bowl, mix together sugar, eggs and vanilla with a hand mixer (or by hand) until light yellow in color.    Add the cooled butter and chocolate mixture and mix to combine. Add the flour and mix just to combine - do not overmix. 

Dot the Baileys and cream cheese mixture onto the top of the brownie batter.  Using a skewer or knife, marble the cream cheese mixture into the brownie mixture.

Once marbled, bake on a rack in the center of your preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the pan on a rack for 15 minutes or so.  Remove from the pan using the foil and let cool the rest of the way on the rack. 

Makes approximately 16-20 1-inch square brownies.