I am the champion

Today was a big day for me...we had a holiday cookie baking contest in my department at work, and I won "Most Delicious" (for my baked goods, not me personally). I would like to stress that there were no rules for this contest; however, I still feel like I may have cheated a little bit because 1) I didn't actually make cookies, because I'm not that great at baking cookies and am much better at baking other things; and 2) I started with a boxed mix. But I still won, which made me feel better than it probably should have. (When the best thing to happen to you in your professional life in recent memory is that you won a completely informal cookie taste test - and you are not any sort of pastry chef - you have to admit that things could be better.)

However, the very best thing about today was that there were like 22 kinds of cookies to taste in our department, so we were all on happy sugar highs and in very good spirits. :) I ate a very large salad for lunch with a lot of green vegetables on it, so I figure I've compensated enough for the massive amount of cookies I ate.

Here, for your enjoyment, is my now award-winning recipe, which I got from an "America's Best Brand-Name Baking" cookbook, but which can also be found pretty easily online (and not just here; I Googled it because I didn't feel like getting off the couch to actually go get the cookbook from the kitchen and copy the recipe):

Cheesecake-Topped Brownies

1 large (family-size) box fudge brownie mix (Mine was Duncan Hines, about 21 oz.)
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
1 tablespoon cornstarch
14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Ready-to-spread chocolate frosting (the recipe says this is optional, but I think it's absolutely mandatory)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Prepare brownie mix according to package directions. Spread evenly in well-greased, 9 x 13-in. pan.
2. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, margarine and cornstarch until fluffy. Gradually beat in the sweetened condensed milk, egg and vanilla until smooth. Pour evenly over the brownie batter. (I know it sounds like this might not work, but don't worry, it does.)
3. Bake 45 minutes or until top is lightly browned (keep an eye on it after about 40 minutes so it doesn't get too brown).
4. Cool completely. Spread with frosting. Cut into bars. Store in the refrigerator.

In my experience, making these the night before you want to serve them works really well. Frost them, but don't cut them; keep them in the fridge overnight and cut them the next day.

Mmm, brownies.