Day 41: National Cheesecake Brownie Day

What can be better than Friday and cheesecake brownie day occurring on the same day?  I just can't hold back my giddiness.  Yummy chocolate fudge brownie with a creamy cheesecake swirl - YUM!  I am realizing now that I just don't make these often enough!

The recipe I chose today is from Wilton's Brownie Fun recipe book.  It has all sorts of ideas for decorating brownies as well as various recipes and ways to mix up brownies with other flavors and ingredients.  Here is the recipe:

Marble Cheesecake Brownies

Yield:  16 brownies (236 calories each)

Ingredients:

Cheesecake batter:

• 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened (I used lite)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 tsp almond extract (I used almond, but next time will use vanilla)
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips

Brownie batter:

• 2/3 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg. F.  Spray a 9x2 inch square pan with baking spray.
2. In medium bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar with electric mixer until light and creamy.  Add egg and extract; mix well.  Stir in milk chocolate chips; set aside.
3. In small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
4. In medium microwave safe bowl, melt butter and semi sweet chocolate chips.  Whisk in sugar, eggs and vanilla; mix well.  
5. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined.
6. Alternate dropping spoonfuls of brownie and cheesecake batter in prepared pan.  Using a knife, swirl the 2 batters together to create a marbled effect.
7. Bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool completely before cutting. (My brownies took about 40 minutes to bake and they still came out pretty soft and fudgey in the center.)

Tip of the day:  Do your cut brownies look ragged around the edges?  Want to have clean cut brownies?  Wait until brownies are completely cool and cut with a plastic knife.  It's fool proof - try it and let me know how it works!!