Fudgy Chocolate Brownie Hearts with Raspberry Cream Cheese Filling

Valentine's Day is right around the corner and I'm not buying my husband anything. Instead I'm making him fat with lots and lots of homemade goodies. These brownies got an A+ from him. He is by far the best taste tester I have because he has a ridiculous sweet tooth.

Anyways, the other day I stopped at my local grocery store to pick up some ingredients to make these bad boys. Of course I picked the worst time of day to run into the store. It was around 6pm and everyone was shopping after work to get last minute groceries for dinner. 

I live in a small town and every time I go into the store I always bump into at least one person I went to high school with. I hate these fake exchanges we make with old acquaintances who really don't give a shit about how you're doing. They're all like "Oh hey! how are? what have you been up to?" and all I really wanna say is "not a damn thing, leave me alone", but instead I'm pleasant and smile. 

Sometimes I really just want to get through the checkout line without remember my embarrassing haircuts and pimply face I had in high school. I also feel disgusting because here I am buying a shit ton of chocolate and cream cheese. What I'm really saying to them is "I let myself go and I eat cream cheese by the pound". Oh well, I guess. It's my life's mission to shut my anxious mind off and not give a crap. 

Here's what you need to make Fudgy Chocolate Brownie Hearts with Raspberry Cream Cheese Filling:

adapted from Alton Brown

Ingredients:

Brownies:

4 large eggs

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup cocoa powder

1 cup melted unsalted butter

2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

1/2 cup of all purpose flour 

Raspberry Cream Cheese Filling:

8 ounce Cream Cheese

1/2 cup of sugar

1/2 - 1 cup raspberry preserves ( I used my mom's homemade) 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees

2. grease 13 X 18 cookie sheet

3. In your stand mixer whisk eggs on medium speed until fluffy. Add the sugar and then the rest of the ingredients.

4. Pour the batter on cookie sheet pushing all the batter to the edges. Smooth the top so the batter is evenly distributed on the cookie sheet.

5. Bake for 18-20 or until tooth pick comes out clean. 

6. Let the brownies cool completely.

7. Add cream cheese, sugar, and raspberry preserves to stand mixer. Beat the crap out of it with paddle attachment until combined and smooth.

8. Fill a pastry bag with raspberry cream cheese filling. 

9. Once brownies are completely cooled, cut hearts with cookie cutter.

10. Pipe raspberry cream cheese filling onto half the hearts, sandwich, and sift powdered sugar over top.