Cream Cheese Chocolate Chunk Pastries Food

CHOCOLATE RUGELACH

Steps:

• Make the dough: Place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the chunks of butter, cream cheese, and egg yolk. Process until the dough starts to come together into a well-moistened, crumbly mass, 20 to 30 seconds. Transfer the dough to a clean work surface. Gather the crumbly dough into a ball and knead, dusting the work surface and dough lightly with flour as necessary, until it comes together into a smooth ball. Shape the dough into a rectangle, then cut into 4 equal portions; flatten each piece of dough into a ½-inch-thick rectangle. Wrap each section of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 3 days.
• Make the filling: Place the chocolate in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Melt in the microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring in between, until almost melted. Stir, allowing the residual heat in the bowl to melt the chocolate completely. (Alternatively, melt the chocolates in a double boiler on the stovetop.) Mix in the sugar and salt. The mixture will be grainy; that's okay.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Roll the cookies: Remove one section of dough from the refrigerator, unwrap it, and place it on a lightly floured work surface. (If necessary, let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes until it's pliable enough to roll, but not too soft.) Dust the top of the dough lightly with flour, then use a rolling pin to roll it into an 8 x 11-in rectangle. Don't make yourself crazy over it, but try to make it as even as possible around the edges; it will make it easier to roll. (Go ahead and trim slightly with a pizza cutter or sharp knife if it's very uneven.) Using an offset spatula or back of a spoon, quickly spread ¼ of the chocolate filling (about a ¼ cup) evenly over the dough, leaving a ¼-inch border around the edges.
• Starting from the long side, roll the dough tightly into a cylinder. Place the filled rolled dough, seam side down, on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough and chocolate filling. Place the rolled dough logs in the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes, or until firm to the touch.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Take the rolled dough out of the refrigerator. Using a serrated knife, slice off the uneven ends of each roll and discard. Then slice the rolls into 1-in-wide pieces. Place each slice, seam side down, on the prepared sheet. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until lightly golden. Cool the rugelach on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Rugelach are best enjoyed fresh on the day they are baked but any extra cookies can be stored in airtight container for up to 3 days, or frozen for longer storage.
• Make-Ahead Instructions: The unbaked sliced rugelach can be chilled and stored for up to 3 days in the refrigerator before baking.
• Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The unbaked sliced rugelach can be frozen for up to 3 months. Before freezing, let the sliced rugelach set on a baking sheet in the freezer for approximately 20 minutes, then place in a sealable bag and press out as much air as possible. Bake as needed directly from the freezer. (Allow 1 to 2 minutes longer in the oven.) To freeze after baking: Let the rugelach cool completely and store in an airtight container separating layers with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Before serving, remove the cookies from the container and let them come to room temperature.

EASY FOUR-LAYER CHOCOLATE DESSERT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Place flour in a small bowl; cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in 1/2 cup walnuts. Press onto bottom of an ungreased 13x9-in. baking dish. Bake until light golden brown, 12-15 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack., In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until smooth; fold in 1 carton whipped topping. Spread over crust. In a large bowl, whisk milk and pudding mix for 2 minutes. Gently spread over cream cheese layer. Top with remaining whipped topping. Sprinkle with chocolate chunks and remaining walnuts. Refrigerate until cold., Cut into bars. Just before serving, drizzle with chocolate syrup.

CREAM CHEESE CHOCOLATE CHUNK PASTRIES

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 375°F. Stir the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in a medium bowl until the mixture is smooth.
• Unfold one pastry sheet on lightly floured surface. Roll the pastry sheet into a 14 x 10-inch rectangle. Spread half of the cream cheese mixture on the pastry sheet to the edges, leaving a 1-inch border on one long side.
• Sprinkle half the chopped semi-sweet and white chocolate over the cream cheese. Starting at the long side covered with cream cheese, roll the pastry up like a jelly roll. Press the edges to seal. Repeat with the remaining pastry sheet. Cover and refrigerate the pastry rolls for 1 hour.
• Cut each roll into 12 (1-inch) slices, making 24 slices in all. Place the pastries 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets.
• Bake the pastries for 20 minutes or until they're golden brown. Remove the pastries from the baking sheets and cool on wire racks for 10 minutes. Decorate the pastries with melted white chocolate.
• Helper: To decorate the pastries: Place the melted white chocolate in a small heavy-duty resealable plastic bag. Seal the bag tightly. Fold down the top of the bag tightly and snip a tiny piece off one corner (about 1/8-inch). Holding the top of the bag, drizzle the chocolate over the pastries.

CHOCOLATE CHIP CREAM CHEESE BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Combine cake mix, oil and egg; mix until blended. Reserve 1 cup mixture for topping. Press remaining mixture into a 13x9-in. baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake until set, 10-12 minutes., For filling, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg. Spread over crust. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and reserved topping., Bake until set, 18-20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars. Store in refrigerator.

CHUNKY CHEESECAKE BROWNIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9-inch square baking pan.
• Combine cream cheese with 1/4 cup sugar and 1 egg in a mixing bowl; beat until smooth. Stir 1 cup chocolate chips into the cream cheese mixture. Set aside.
• Fill a saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Turn the heat off, and set a heatproof mixing bowl over the water. In the mixing bowl, combine butter with the remaining cup of chocolate chips; stir until just melted and blended together. Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and 2 eggs, then sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into chocolate until evenly blended.
• Pour half of the batter into the prepared baking pan. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the chocolate layer. Top with remaining chocolate mixture (this doesn't need to completely cover the cream cheese layer). Using a knife, swirl the top chocolate layer into the cream cheese to make a marble pattern.
• Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 to 30 minutes, or until top is crinkled and edges pull away from sides of the pan. Cool thoroughly. Cut into 12 to 16 squares. Store in the refrigerator or freeze.

CHOCOLATE CREAM CHEESE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Sift flour and baking soda together in a bowl.
• Combine cream cheese and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; beat until smooth and creamy. Gradually beat in sugar and egg. Stir in melted chocolate chips. Add flour mixture, white chocolate chips, and nuts; stir until combined.
• Drop spoonfuls of dough 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets.
• Bake in the preheated oven until firm around the edges, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet briefly before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.