Packers fans out there, rejoice. The Su­per Bowl is over and the Green Bay Packers walked away with big shiny rings to brag about and the Lombardi trophy is going “home.” Just don’t bring it up with Amy, as her love for the Bears requires a deep disdain for the Packers. No, this has nothing to do with what happened two weeks ago at Sol­dier Field, as Sophie assumed; it runs much, much deeper than that. Sophie could not have cared less about the Super Bowl, except for the fact that it is the perfect excuse to eat chips, dip, wings and drink beer. Neverthe­less, she decided upon the Green Bay Packers for her choice in championship. Her justifi­cation (which upset every guy she watched with) was that they are cheeseheads, which seems cool to her. But before the big game began, on a quiet Saturday night, Sophie and Amy decided to create a dessert that would be able to “root” for either team. Enter: Black and Yellow, Marble Cream Cheese Brown­ies. The cream cheese was dyed yellow for the Steelers and the cheese was used to represent good old Wisconsin. Before you get scared of the color, we promise it was beautiful. And delicious, of course. Obviously you can use any color dye, or be boring and keep it white. Your choice

Super Bowl Brownies

Brownies (From Ghirardelli’s Classic Brownie Recipe)

4 ounce(s) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Baking Bar

1/2 cup(s) (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 cup(s) firmly packed light or dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon(s) pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs

3/4 cup(s) plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon(s) baking powder

3/8 teaspoon(s) salt

Preheat the oven to 350?. Butter and flour an 8 x 8 inch cooking pan to help prevent any sticking. Break the chocolate into smaller pieces and place in a medium saucepan along with the pieces of butter. On medium heat, stirring consistently to prevent the chocolate from sticking to the bottom of the pan, melt the chocolate with the butter until smooth. Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool to room temperature. Stir in the brown sugar and vanilla extract until incorporated, fol­lowed by the eggs, being sure to mix well. In a separate bowl sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture. Set mixture aside and make the cream cheese filling.

Cream Cheese Filling

2 tablespoons softened butter

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon flour

5 oz Philly Cream Cheese

1 egg

Yellow Food Coloring (or any other color … or else omit this)

With a mixer, cream together butter, sugar and flour. Add cream cheese and mix until creamy and smooth. Incorporate the egg. Mix in food coloring until desired color is achieved.

Pour half of the brownie mixture into the buttered and floured pan and spread out to in­sure it is covering the entire bottom. Pour the entire cream cheese filling, trying to cover the brownie mixture. Pour the remaining half of the brownie mixture on top. Using a fork, swirl the brownie into the cream cheese until incorporat­ed. Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Recommended to be eaten fresh from the oven.

These proved to be very popular during the nail biter of a game that went down on Sunday night. A bunch of girls were around the house watching the game and whether they were there to see some football or watch the commercials, they all approved of our brownies. They were especially necessary during the second half when the game was getting really exciting and everyone felt the need to eat in order to calm their nerves. So whether you’re a Steelers Fan, a Packers fan, or a Steelers fan because the Packers are your rival, or if you simply don’t care, enjoy these wonderfully rich and festive brownies!