Red Velvet Brownies

I have had an insatiable sweet tooth lately.  But, I do not bake.  Baking is precise.  Not only that but you have to follow the steps exactly, you have to measure everything, and it's just not my cup of tea.  But my fantastic husband, Dusty, does bake.  Dusty is lots of things, patient, kind, supportive, as well as being a great baker!  So he's making a guest appearance on the blog with red velvet brownies.  I've been searching for a good red velvet brownie recipe for the better part of the week.  The initial recipe that sent me on the hunt had a good brownie base and had a cream cheese icing.  I don't know why, but it just didn't scream yum to me.  So I went searching some more.  Other recipes just had a stand alone brownie with lots of red food dye.  Again, just wasn't what I was looking for.  Then this morning, I found it!  This recipe had a delicious, cakey red velvet brownie base.  And it was swirled with cream cheesyness goodness (yes, that's a word).  I showed Dusty the recipe and declared that he just HAD to make them for me.  I ran out to get cream cheese and red food dye while Dusty looked over the recipe.  Lots of measuring, mixing, pan-greasing, and layering ensued while I watched from the sidelines giving "helpful suggestions" all along the way.   I am a horrible back-seat baker.  :(  We omitted the walnuts from the original recipe and cooked them for 33 minutes rather than the 30 minutes.  Me & Dusty and the boys dove into these as soon as we snapped the pictures and they are so yummy!  If red velvet is a favorite of yours, you will want to try these brownies. 

And I got to thinking about a few questions... Do you have split cooking/baking responsibilities in your house?  Do you prefer cooking over baking too? 

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, for pan

Red Velvet Brownie Layer:

• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• Pinch salt
• 1 tablespoon red food coloring
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts

Cream Cheese Layer:

• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Special equipment: 8 by 8-inch baking pan

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter an 8 by 8-inch baking pan, and set aside.

Brownie layer: In a saucepan on medium heat melt the butter. Remove the butter to a large bowl and add the sugar, vanilla, cocoa powder, salt, food coloring, and vinegar, in that order, mixing between additions. Whisk the eggs in a small bowl and stir it into the cocoa mix. Fold in the flour until lightly combined. Stir in the walnuts and pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, saving 1/4 cup of the batter for the top.

Cream cheese layer: Blend together the cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Gently spread the cream cheese layer on top of the brownie batter in the pan. Dollop the remaining brownie batter over the cream cheese layer. Using a skewer or the tip of a knife, drag the tip through the cream cheese mixture to create a swirl pattern. Bake the brownies for 30 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely before cutting.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sunny-anderson/red-velvet-swirl-brownies-recipe/index.html