Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Squares

It was a gloomy kinda Saturday yesterday. Cloudy and the threat of rain all day. Most weekends we are outside working in the yard, but yesterday wasn't that kind of day. I had a bridal shower breakfast to go to in MA and by the time I got home, half the day was over. Tati called and said she had made some Bolognese sauce....did we want to have dinner together? Sure! Pot Luck Dinners rock. I had already taken some chicken out which was marinating in the fridge (olive oil, lemon, ginger, garlic and soy, yum). It was 2:00pm so I had to think of something quick and easy to make for dessert. Hmm. What to make?

I had made these Cream Cheese Squares several times already and they always had been a hit, but they needed something....something more....chocolaty (doesn't everything?). So I tweaked the original recipe and added in some chocolate chips and chunks that I had left over from another recipe. I almost went with a bag of mini chips I had, but I'm glad I didn't because the chips and chunks really proved to be the perfect size for this. This recipe is quick, delicious, and great for dessert or as a breakfast treat.

Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Squares
Printable recipe
2 cans (8oz each) refrigerated crescent dinner rolls, divided
2 pkgs (8oz each) cream cheese, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg, lightly beaten
¾ cup sugar, divided
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350. Unroll 1 of the cans of crescent rolls and press it into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking pan to form a crust, firmly pressing the seams together to seal.

Beat cream cheese, vanilla, egg and ½ cup sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Stir in one cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips (or chunks or both).

Unroll remaining can of crescent dough onto a large sheet of wax paper. Pat out the dough to form a 9x13 rectangle, pressing the seams together to seal. Invert over the cream cheese mixture to form the top crust.

Bake 30 – 35 minutes or until light golden brown.

Combine ¼ cup sugar and cinnamon into a small bowl and sprinkle over the squares when they come out of the oven. I know it looks like a lot of topping, but it really is just enough for the finished product.

These squares are very versatile. You could mix in a flavoring, add some fruit, nuts, etc. Experiment and see what you can come up with.

We had a really great dinner, laughed a lot and ended the night with a fire until a downpour cut it short. Sometimes last minute plans prove to be the most fun.