Vegan Cream Cheese Cherry Swirl Brownies

I decided that I needed to make brownies this weekend.  This was partially due to a poll I took on facebook whether cookies or brownies sounded better.  Even though the brownies won, I was thinking they sounded the best to me anyways!  I figured making brownies would be the perfect thing to do after my Saturday morning run, something enjoyable to look forward to, since baking is relaxing for me.  I had not planned on making them vegan actually, it just happened that way.  I realized I had no eggs in my fridge, but I did have silken tofu!  So I started off on an experiment to create delicious vegan brownies.  I wasn't sure how much silken tofu to use to replace the eggs, so I guessed and used 3/4 cup to replace 4 eggs.  It turned out perfect once they were baked, and beforehand the batter looked so  delicious I had to have a taste, and was heavenly!  No need to worry about raw eggs!  Although the brownies would have been good just plain, I wanted something a little more creative. 

I had visions of cherry studded batter swirled with cream cheese (vegan of course).  So I used some tofutti cream cheese to create the swirl, and mixed in some dried bing cherries!  They baked up perfectly and they were sooooo good!  I would not have been able to tell they were vegan, and my taste testers agreed.  The combination of the cherries, cream cheese and chocolate was heavenly!   These were not something I could only eat one of.  If you make them, you won't be able to either! 

Vegan Cream Cheese Cherry Swirl Brownies

makes 24

Swirl:
8 oz vegan tofutti cream cheese
1/4 cup agave nectar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Brownies:
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
1 cup coconut oil
6 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 cup agave nectar
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup pureed silken tofu
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 cup dried cherries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees with the rack in the middle position. Line a 9x13 inch pan with foil, and spray with non-stick spray. Beat cream cheese, 1/4 cup agave nectar, and vanilla together in a medium bowl and set aside (this is the swirl).  Whisk together flour, baking powder, soda, and sea salt, and set aside. In a large bowl, place chcocolate and oil. Microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between to melt the chocolate, until the chocolate and oil are smooth and well combined. Whisk in agave nectar, along with vanilla and tofu, and whisk to blend until well incorporated. Whisk in vinegar until well blended and there are pale swirls throughout the batter. Mix in cherries until well incorporaten, and pour into the prepared pan.  Drop swirl mixture by spoonfuls onto top of batter and swirl with a knife to create marbeling.  Place in the oven and bake for 25-35 minutes until set, starting to pull away from the edges of the pan and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out fairly clean. Do not overbake! Let cool in pan for about 10 minutes, then lift foil out by the edges and cool on a rack. Let set for at least an hour, then cut into 24 bars (or larger if you are like me).