Near Perfection: Rich, Chocolaty Cookie Bars

"Is it possible to have too much chocolate?  Nahh."

 

You can thank me later for passing along the recipe of these are very rich, chocolaty cheesecake bars. The only thing that would make this even more decadent would be to add chocolate chips to the mix. 
 

Recipe from the book Peach Cobbler Murder

By Joanne Fluke (see review) 

The Crust:

1 1/2 cups flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup butter, softened

DIRECTIONS:

Mix the dry ingredients together then cut in the softened butter.

Spread the mixture in the bottom of a greased 9 x 13 pan and press it down with a spatula.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Don’t shut off the oven yet.

A - Using pastry blender on the dry ingredients for the crust.
B - Cream cheese, mayo, sugar, and eggs.
C - Crust after baking.

The Filling:

2 eight ounce packages cream cheese, softened

1 cup mayonnaise - the real stuff

1 cup sugar

4 eggs

2 cups melted chocolate chips

2 teaspoons vanilla

DIRECTIONS:

With an electric mixer soften the cream cheese and beat it with the mayonnaise until smooth. Gradually add the sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Melt the chocolate chips then let cool for a minute or two, mostly so they won't cook the eggs when added to the mixture. Gradually add the melted chocolate, mixing thoroughly. Mix in the vanilla. Pour the finished mixture on top of the crust.

C - Melted chocolate
D - Chocolate added
E - Poured into pan and ready to bake

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Let cool to room temperature then chill for at least 4 hours.

For an added decorative touch sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Cut into brownie sized bars.

My Rating:

Ease of preparation: 4 out of 5

Time to prepare: 4 out of 5

Taste: 5 out of 5

Would I make this again? Probably.