Cheesecake Brownies, 4 of 5 stars
Sunday was the Super Bowl, and we all know what that means: time to try out a new recipe on a wide audience! I selected the Cheesecake Brownies from the Baking Bites blog. They were really good. Really good. I don't have much to add.
Well, perhaps a little to add. The directions were to make the brownies in an 8x8 pan. I made them in a mini muffin tins, and the recipe made 48 cheesecake brownie bites, as I am now calling them. Also, because my mini muffin pan is dark, I lowered the baking temperature from 350 to 325, which is what I do anytime I use a dark pan. I also had to halve the baking time.
The texture of these was delightful -- the perfect mix of brownie and cheesecake. Neither flavor overwhelms the other; people who said they didn't like cheesecake, loved these, and people who didn't care much for brownies, ate these quickly. (Yes, I know a few weirdos who don't like cheesecake or brownies!) The recipe is rather forgiving, as well. I changed the original recipe a little (see below), and slightly overbaked the brownies. And they were still great! I can't wait to make them again.
BROWNIE
1/2 cup butter
2.5-oz dark chocolate, (chopped bar or chocolate chips)
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1.5 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
CHEESECAKE
8-oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
DIRECTIONS
Well, perhaps a little to add. The directions were to make the brownies in an 8x8 pan. I made them in a mini muffin tins, and the recipe made 48 cheesecake brownie bites, as I am now calling them. Also, because my mini muffin pan is dark, I lowered the baking temperature from 350 to 325, which is what I do anytime I use a dark pan. I also had to halve the baking time.
The texture of these was delightful -- the perfect mix of brownie and cheesecake. Neither flavor overwhelms the other; people who said they didn't like cheesecake, loved these, and people who didn't care much for brownies, ate these quickly. (Yes, I know a few weirdos who don't like cheesecake or brownies!) The recipe is rather forgiving, as well. I changed the original recipe a little (see below), and slightly overbaked the brownies. And they were still great! I can't wait to make them again.
BROWNIE
1/2 cup butter
2.5-oz dark chocolate, (chopped bar or chocolate chips)
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1.5 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
CHEESECAKE
8-oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 325F. Line mini muffin tins with paper liners.
- In a small, heatproof bowl, melt butter and chocolate together. Stir with a fork until very smooth. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
- In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs and vanilla extract. Whisking steadily, pour chocolate mixture into sugar mixture. Stir until smooth. Sift flour, cocoa powder and salt into the bowl and stir until just combined.
- Pour into prepared pan and prepare cheesecake mixture.
- In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla extract until smooth. Drop in dollops onto prepared brownie batter. Gently swirl two batters with a butter knife.
- Bake for 17-20 minutes, until brownies and cheesecake are set. A knife inserted into the cheesecake mixture should come out clean and the edges will be lightly browned.
- Cool in the pan completely before slicing and serving, either at room temperature or chilled.
- Brownies can be refrigerated, covered, for several days.