Tag Archives: cream cheese brownies

Happy Mother’s Week Day 5: Mom’s Black Bottom Squares

11 May

My mom’s Black Bottom Squares were just as I’d remembered them.

You may remember back in March, when I posted about Bakerella’s Black Bottom Cupcakes. I talked about how they reminded me of my mom’s Black Bottom brownies that I remembered having a long time ago, and remembered loving. When my mom saw the Bakerella recipe she too, thought it was similar to her Black Bottom squares recipe and she passed that recipe along to me. It took me a while to have a chance to make them, but last weekend I did get that chance.

I had never made these squares before, but they were just as I remembered them, dark chocolate and delicious. I prefer them served cold because of the cream cheese. This recipe also made me want to bake some Cream Cheese Swirl or Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies too, so that’s on my list of things to do next. I kept wanting to swirl these as well, but the recipe didn’t say to, so I didn’t do it!

Here is the recipe, which my mom put a note on: “from North Kingstown Newcomers Cookbook 1979,” so when I said it reminded me of something I’d had a long time ago, that explains it. These have been around for a while in our family. The recipe is credited to Jean Bolles in the cookbook itself.

Today’s recipe will complete my gifts to you for Mother’s Week, just in time for Mother’s Day on Sunday. If you are a mom enjoy, enjoy, enjoy your day on Sunday and if you are lucky enough to be able to spend the day with your mom, be sure to enjoy every minute!

Thanks for today’s recipe Mom!

BLACK BOTTOMS

This recipe is completed in two steps: the chocolate layer and the cream cheese layer.

INGREDIENTS

For the chocolate:

1 cup water

1/3 cup oil

1 Tbsp. vinegar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1/4 cups cocoa

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

For the cream cheese:

1 egg

1 eight ounce package of cream cheese

1/3 sugar

1/8 tsp. salt

1 six ounce pkg. chocolate chips

Before they bake…this is where I realllllly wanted to swirl that cream cheese, but I did not. Next time though, I might just do it!

DIRECTIONS

Combine water, cocoa, oil, vinegar, vanilla, flour, 1 cup sugar, baking soda, and 1/2 tsp. salt.

Pour into a well-greased 9×13 inch pan and sprinkle with a six ounce package of chocolate chips.

Beat together egg, cream cheese, 1/3 cup sugar and 1/8 tsp. salt.

Spoon over chocolate chips and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

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Bakerella’s Black Bottom Cupcakes

9 Mar

Bananas, cream cheese, chocolate. Seriously, could anything be better?

Did you ever just have one of those memories of something you ate in your childhood, but never had again? First of all, I have memories of things I’ve eaten, probably every day. But, things I’ve never had again but still remember? Not as often.

When I was younger my mom used to make these fabulous black bottom cream cheese brownies. They had chocolate chips in them. They were mouth-wateringly (is that a word?) delicious. My mouth is watering right now and all I’ve got is my bagel for lunch to satisfy it.

Anyways…I follow this blog, Bakerella, and in fact, she just announced this week that one of her recipes will be featured in the April Women’s Day Magazine. One day on her blog she posted these yummy looking Black Bottom Cupcakes, and just the photos on her blog made me want to make them THAT DAY, never mind the fact that they reminded me of my mom’s black bottom brownies of my youth.

So I did. I made them that very day.

They were SO GOOD.

And healthy! Yup, they have THREE bananas in them. That makes them in the fruits food group in my opinion.

After I made them, I passed the recipe along to my mom and she said, “Those remind me of the black bottom brownies I used to make.”

ME TOO!!

And now, I have her brownie recipe as well. I’ll make them soon and post that one too. Bonus.

In the meantime, here is the recipe for Bakerella’s Black Bottom Cupcakes. One thing to note: It says it made 18, but I ended up with 12. Twelve very large muffin-like brownie cupcakes. I think my muffin tin is too big. Other than that, they were quick and easy. Delicious, definitely a keeper, according to my family.

Now, my photos aren’t as amazing looking as hers, so definitely go over and see her recipe post too, so you can see what I mean.

Black Bottom Cupcakes

Two batters, two bowls.

Cream Cheese Mixture
 8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 small banana, pureed
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 oz. semisweet chocolate chips

Chocolate Mixture
 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large bananas, pureed
1/3 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

For the cream cheese mixture:

  • Beat cream cheese and sugar until nice and fluffy.
  • Add banana, egg and vanilla and mix together until combined.
  • Stir in chocolate chips and set aside.

I used my Pampered Chef scoop to do the chocolate batter.

For the chocolate mixture:

  • Sift together flour, cocoa, sugar, soda and salt using a wire whisk.
  • Add bananas, oil and vanilla and mix together on low until combined.
  • Use a large scoop to fill cupcake liners with batter.
  • Repeat topping the cupcake batter with the cream cheese mixture.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until done.

Makes about 18 cupcakes.

Recipe adapted from Great American Favorite Brand Name Cookbook, 1993.

See...mine were kinda large by the end! And of course, everyone had to fight over who would get the biggest one with all the chocolate chips from the bottom left corner.

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