Cookies N' Cream Brownies

So for awhile now, I've been craving a rich and chocolatey brownie. I also happened to get my hands on The Taste of Home Baking Book. This book has a great selection of brownie recipes which I can't wait to try. As I flipped through, my eyes landed on a particular recipe since it has one of my favorite ingredients: Oreo Cookies. To be honest, I think that you simply can't go wrong with anything that has Oreos because they are just so darn good. My mind for the first choice was made up. The good news is that the brownies turned out great! They are moist and not too sweet. On the downside, I didn't really taste any Oreo flavor. So if I make these again, I will definitely be adding an Oreo topping of some sort, which will also add a nice touch.

Ingredients:

• -1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• -1/4 cup sugar
• -1 egg
• -1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 
  BROWNIE LAYER:
• -1/2 cup butter, melted
• -1/2 cup sugar
• -1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• -1/2 cup baking cocoa
• -2 eggs
• -1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• -1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• -1 teaspoon baking powder
• -12 cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed

Directions:

• 1. In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth; set aside.
• Tip: Make sure you scrape down the bowl while beating the cream cheese mixture AND the brownie mixture. You don't want any lumps leftover inside each of the mixtures before you pour them into the pan. At the same time, don't beat the mixtures too much because it can ruin the texture of the brownie. 

2. For brownie layer, combine the butter, sugars and cocoa in a large bowl. 

• 3. Beat in eggs.

4. Combine flour and baking powder; gradually add to cocoa mixture. 

5. Stir in cookie crumbs.

6. Pour into a greased 11-in. x 7-in. baking pan.

• 7. Spoon cream cheese mixture over batter; cut through batter with a knife to swirl. 
• Tip: Don't cut through the batters too much because you don't want to mix up the batters completely. The layers should stay separate - you just want to create a swirl effect for design.

• 8. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with moist crumbs. 

9. Cool completely on a wire rack. Cut into bars. Store in the refrigerator.