Strawberry Goat Cheese Brownies: You Need These

Remember that bake sale that Jaryn and I put together to help her raise money to kick the &^%$^ out of cancer? The result: we raised over $350! And what was the top-grossing item?

My strawberry goat cheese brownies.

Now, I won’t make you pay me $100 or something for the recipe. I’m just that generous. How could I not be, after experiencing some goat cheese, chocolate, and strawberry melded together into a dense, delicious dessert?

Just the sight of that combination should warm your heart. And inspire you to make these yourself.

As a bonus, the "We Should Cocoa" challenge, hosted by Chocolette this month, dared us to mix chocolate and strawberries in a recipe this month. Check.

Strawberry Goat Cheese Brownies (adapted from Nick Malgieri's Supernatural Brownies) - Ingredients

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate (Scharffen Berger 70% cocoa)

8 ounces butter

4 eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup flour

6 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

8 oz goat cheese, at room temperature

1/2 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 1/4 cups strawberry preserves

Melt the butter and chocolate together over low heat until just melted, set aside and allow to cool.

Blend the goat cheese and cream cheese in a food processor until smooth, add one egg, ½ cup sugar, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Blend until smooth. Set aside.

Beat four eggs until fluffy, then add 1 cup of sugar and brown sugar, beat until fluffy again. Add salt, vanilla, and chocolate butter mixture, blend until uniform. Fold in flour, then pour 2/3 of batter into a 9”x13” pan buttered and lined with buttered parchment paper. Drop spoonfuls of goat cheese mixture onto batter so that it is evenly spread atop the batter.

Drop tablespoon-size chunks of strawberry preserves onto goat cheese, keeping chunks evenly dispersed.

Drop remaining brownie batter in tablespoon quantities in between chunks of strawberry preserves.

With a knife, carefully draw horizontal and then vertical lines through the top of the pan to mix the batter, goat cheese mixture, and preserves.

Bake at 350° F for 45-50 minutes, or until brownies are firm when the pan is shaken.

Allow to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate before cutting.

If you don’t refrigerate them first, your knife will be covered in soft strawberry goat cheese brownie remains, and you’ll have to eat it off the knife.

Tragic.

Have you had goat cheese in chocolate baked goods before? How did you like it?