Cream Cheese Frosting | A Taste of Morning

A little something for National Bourbon Day …

(Not for children)

Boozy Bourbon Brownies

Makes about 25 small rich brownies

Ingredients:

6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 c. unsalted butter

1/2 c. dried currants

2 T. bourbon

3/4 c. all-purpose flour

2 T. natural cocoa

1/4 t. salt

2 lg. eggs

1/2 c. granulated white sugar

1/2 c. dark brown sugar, firmly packed

Boozy Bourbon Cream Cheese Frosting (Recipe below)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9” square baking pan or spray with baking spray.
Melt chocolate and butter together, stirring frequently. Set aside to cool.
Combine the currants and bourbon. Set aside.
In small bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa and salt. Set aside.
In large bowl, beat eggs and white sugar together until pale, thick and creamy. (This takes about three to four minutes on high speed. Do not underbeat.) Beat in dark brown sugar and then beat in chocolate mixture. On lowest speed, beat in currants and bourbon. Then beat in dry ingredients just until they are incorporated. Pour batter into baking pan. Spread evenly.
Bake for about 32 to 37 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out almost clean and the brownies feel firm to the touch. Place baking pan on a wire rack to cool.
Before serving, cut brownies into squares and remove from pan. Frost tops of brownies with Boozy Bourbon Cream Cheese Frosting.

Boozy Bourbon Cream Cheese Frosting

Makes enough to frost one 9” square pan of baked goods or to decorate about 30 cookies.

Ingredients:

6 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 c. confectioner’s sugar

1 T. + 2 t. Bourbon, or to taste

Directions:

Combine ingredients in a small bowl. Beat until perfectly smooth. Taste. If desired, slowly beat in more Bourbon. Use to frost baked goods.

Have a great weekend!

I was thrilled when I read that the theme for this month’s cooking challenge by Two Little Chefettes is Chocolate Chips. I have so many recipes that I love that call for chocolate chips. I considered entering one of my recent chocolate chip recipe posts (Bill’s Blondies, Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins, or Forgot Me Not Cookies); but since I have been writing about the heat lately (It’s Scorching Hot …, 96 and Going to Havana), I decided instead to use my recipe for Blondies Caliente. Yum! Enjoy! Thanks Bebe and Ridha for putting together the monthly challenge! By the way, at the bottom of this post is my recipe for Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting which goes so well with these blondies.* So you get a 2-for-1 on this challenge!

Blondies Caliente

Makes about 16 blondies

Blondies with a kick. When used in baked goods Chipotle adds heat a little stronger than that of ginger, but with its own distinct flavor. These blondies are delightfully aromatic when warm.

1 c. all-purpose flour

1 t. ground cinnamon

1/2 t. ground chipotle pepper

1/4 t. ground nutmeg

1/4 t. salt

1/2 c. unsalted butter, melted

1 c. light brown sugar, firmly packed

1 lg. egg

1/2 t. orange extract

1/2 t. vanilla extract

1/2 c. semisweet or dark chocolate chips

1/2 c. chopped honey-roasted peanuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8” square baking pan.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.
Place the butter in a medium size bowl. Stir in the sugar. Beat with a mixer on medium speed for 1 minute. Beat in the egg, orange and vanilla extracts until the mixture is light and fluffy. (This takes several minutes. Do not underbeat.) On lowest mixer speed, beat in dry ingredients and then chocolate chips and peanuts.
Spread the batter evenly in the baking pan. Bake for about 24 to 26 minutes or until blondies start to pull back from the edge of the pan and the center feels almost firm to the touch. Do not overbake. Cool and then cut into squares. If desired, chill before serving.

Variations: Substitute chopped Mexican chocolate for chocolate chips. Substitute peanut butter chips for honey-roasted peanuts.

Serving Suggestion: Frost with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting before serving. (Recipe below photo.)

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Makes enough to frost one 8″ or 9” square pan of baked goods.

This speckled pale brown frosting goes well with chocolate, orange, and nut flavorings.

6 oz. cream cheese softened

1/2 c. + 1 T. confectioner’s sugar

1 T. + 1 t. milk

1 1/2 t. ground cinnamon

1/2 t. vanilla extract

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in remaining ingredients until perfectly smooth again.
Frosting can be spread on cooled brownies, blondies or cookies right away. If using frosting for piping decorations, chill for at least 4 hours first.

Be sure to refrigerate confections frosted with cream cheese frosting.

*Both of these are recipes that I developed for my cookbook Confectionately Yours: A Collection of Cookies, Candies & Yummy Confections.