Cheesecake Brownies! Oh My!

One of my favorite things to make are brownies, nothing beats a good brownie. I was on pintrest and was inspired from a picture/ recipe of a brownie basically sandwiching a cheesecake layer. Oh these looked so decadent, and I could spend hours on pintrest! I absolutely love to bake, and though I would love to take credit for these beauties I will always give credit where credit is due. The recipe derived from this site: http://www.recipe.com/brownie-bombs/ though I did do a couple things different, but this is where the inspiration came from. Well now, lets jump right in.



First thing is first preheat your oven to 350. In a saucepan melt 4 ounces of butter with 1/2 cup (one stick) of butter. Make sure you melt this over low heat. I used semisweet chocolate, because I have a sweet tooth, you could use unsweetened if you want them not as sweet. I also used Trader Joe's chocolate chunks, their chocolate is my favorite to bake with. When the mixture is totally smooth take it off the heat and allow it to cool for about 10 minutes.

 

I know, trying to let it cool 10 minutes can be impatient, but trust me let it cool! This is so that when you mix in your eggs, they don't scramble. Scrambled eggs in brownies are not a good match!

Now that we are all nice and cool, we are going to stir in 1 1/3 cup of sugar and whisk in 3 eggs. At this point we are also going to add in 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. The recipe called of 1/2 teaspoon, but I always like a little more. We are also going to mix in 3/4 cup of all purpose flour.

Set this mixture aside and now it is time to start the cheesecake layer. In a separate mixing bowl or with your handy dandy kitchen aid mixer, place one 8 ounce package of room temperature cream cheese in the mixture. It is important to make sure this is room temperature to create a nice smooth batter with no lumps! Start mixing the cream cheese on a low speed, while mixing add one egg, after the egg is mixed in, add four teaspoons of flour still while mixing on a low speed. Next, add in 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract. (the recipe calls for 1/4th I used 1/2th teaspoon). We want to make sure we only mix this as much as we need to and nothing more, when you over mix cheesecake it tends to crack after you bake it.

Next, we want to grab an 8X8 pan, spray it really well, and I didn't do this, but I should have lined it with parchment paper. After you have lined the pan, place 2/3 brownie mix in the pan, then the cheesecake layer, try to spread as evenly as you can. It is easier in you place most in the middle, a bit each in 4 corners and pull it out with the spatula. After you have the cheesecake layer down, add the rest of the brownie layer. Now, you are all set to bake! bake for about 20 minutes, keeping an eye on it, top with chocolate chunks, bake another 12 minutes. The baking time will vary upon your oven.

  Allow brownies to cool, or dig in if you're like me and like a nice hot brownie. :) Just be careful not to burn yourself!

 

 

 

Ingredients:

 

Brownie mix:

 

4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate

1/2 cup butter

1 1/3 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup AP flour

3 eggs

 

Cheesecake ingredients:

 

8 ounce cream cheese

1/3 cup sugar

4 teaspoons AP flour

1/2 teaspoon or 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg

 

Directions:

 

1. In a saucepan, melt the unsweetened chocolate and butter over low heat. Remove the mixture from the heat.Stir in 1-1/3 cups of the sugar and the 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Cool the mixture for 15 minutes. Beat in the 3 eggs and the 3/4 cup flour.

 

2.In a mixing bowl, mix the remaining 1/3 cup sugar, the cream cheese, the 1 egg, the 4 teaspoons flour, and the 1/4 teaspoon vanilla.

3.Coat an 8x8x2-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Spread 2/3 of the chocolate batter in the pan. Spoon cream cheese layer over batter. Dollop with remaining chocolate batter.

 

4.Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with chocolate pieces. Bake for 12 minutes more. Cool. Cover; store in the refrigerator. Let the chilled dessert stand at room temperature for 30 minutes to serve. Makes 16 servings ( supposedly, we cut ours big, and got 9 :p ).