While summer is probably best suited for lighter desserts incorporating all the gorgeous fresh fruit that is available, brownies know no season! These particular brownies are extraordinarily fudgy with a thick ribbon of coconut flavored cheesecake. We made these when our brothers had friends over to watch the NBA Finals, and it took some real effort to put aside a couple for photographs! But these are meant to be shared- they’re just too good not to. The brownies pictured here are chilled, which is my personal favorite way to enjoy them (plus, they slice very neatly). Next time we may try replacing the butter in the brownies with coconut oil for enhanced coconut flavor. I think toasted coconut would also work very nicely in the filling!

P.S. Please pardon the slow posting! We worked a lot last week and have been busy, but this week we’re trying to get back on track!

Coconut Cream Cheese Brownies

Makes 1 9×13 inch pan

Idea/Coconut filling from The Baker Chick; Brownie recipe here

Ingredients

For the brownies:

For the coconut cheesecake filling:

1 (8oz) package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg yolk

3/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut (if using unsweetened, up the sugar by a tablespoon or two)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In the bowl of a stand mixture, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and coconut for the filling. Beat until creamy and then set aside.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar, vanilla, and eggs. Stir in the flour.

Line a 9×13 inch pan with foil and spray with cooking spray. Pour in half of the brownie batter, and then top with the cheesecake filling, spreading it as evenly as possible. Top with the other half of the brownie batter.

Bake approximately 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the brownies comes out clean (these will likely take a little longer than a regular pan of brownies). Let cool in pan for about 30 minutes, and then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling. Serve at room temperature or chilled, and store any brownies not being served within a couple hours in the fridge. Enjoy!