Cheesecake Brownies

I know, I have been doing a lot of baking and not much cooking of meals lately. Hopefully, that will change after this week is over as I have been working a ton this week.

These Cheesecake Brownies are addictingly delicious, and, as Deb over at Smitten Kitchen states, even better when eaten nice and cold out of the fridge. They are super easy and there is a pretty good chance you have all of the ingredients on hand if you bake a bunch (I did, minus the unsweetened chocolate for which I substituted semisweet chocolate and scaled down the sugar).

Mine didn't turn out too swirly, but they sure tasted wonderful!

Cheesecake Brownies

recipe adapted from here

ingredients:

brownie batter:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 3 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 3/4 cup + 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour

cheesecake batter:

• 8 ounces cream cheese, softend at room temperature (I used Neufchatel which has 1/3 less fat than regular cream cheese)
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

other:

• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 inch square baking pan.
2. Heat the butter and chopped chocolate either in the microwave (checking every 30 seconds), in a double boiler, or in a saucepan over low heat. When just melted, whisk in 3/4 cup + 1 tbsp sugar, eggs, vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Whisk in flour until just combined and pour into baking pan.
3. Whisk cheesecake batter ingredients together and spread over brownie batter. Using a butter knife, swirl the cheesecake batter into the brownie batter. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top.
4. Bake for about 35 minutes or until the edges are slightly puffed and the center is set.
5. Let brownies cool to room temperature or chill in the fridge before slicing.