Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Squares

I pulled this recipe out of one of those Kraft Food & Family magazines a few years ago. I have been receiving this free magazine for quite a few years and I really enjoyed scanning it for recipes and ideas. My last issue arrived and out fell an invoice?? Hmmm. An invoice in the magazine that I have been receiving for free all these years? Can’t be. Can it? Oh but it was. Seem even the people at Kraft are feeling the effect of this economic downturn and now would like us to pay for the normally free publication. Rats. I’m torn. I already subscribe to Gourmet, Bon Appetite, Saveur, Everyday Food, Taste of Home, Yankee (yup there’s recipes in dem dar magazeens), and another magazine that I just got a sample copy of whose name escapes me at the moment, but it was nice! Really, even though I can't for the life of me remember the name. (I cancelled Cook’s Illustrated, got bored with the 6 page recipes and black & white hand drawings. I need big glossy colored photos people. I am a visual person, and black & white hand drawings just don’t cut it with me, plus their were mean to some nice people I know, so that’s enough for me to kick them to the curb).

So whether or not I decided to subscribe to the Kraft magazine, I have to say I have scoffed quite a few crowd-pleasing recipes from it over the years.

Now back to the food. Do you like cheese danish? Cause if you do, then do I have a dessert for you. This dessert reminds me of a great, creamy cheese danish and the best part about it is, you can throw his puppy together in just a few minutes.

I varied the original recipe (imagine that) and added the mini chocolate chips in. You could also add a bit of flavoring into the cream cheese if you’d like…orange, lemon, almond, etc. These squares are very versatile. You could also mix in some fruit, nuts, etc. Experiment and see what you can come up with.

I also cut down on the amount of topping it called for. Originally it was a ¼ cup and 2 tablespoons of cinnamon. I found that to be just way too much. The 1/8 of a cup and 1 tablespoon tastes much better. Just make sure you sprinkle the topping on as soon as it comes out of the oven so it can melt into the squares.

Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Squares
Printable recipe
2 cans (8oz each) refrigerated crescent dinner rolls or 2 cans of the Recipe Creations crescent rolls
2 pkgs (8oz each) cream cheese, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg, lightly beaten
½ cup sugar
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Topping:
1/8 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons 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. If you are using the dinner rolls, make sure to firmly press the seams together.

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.

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.

For topping: Combine the sugar and cinnamon into a small bowl and sprinkle over the squares as soon as they come out of the oven.