Cheesecake Brownies

I do not remember the last time I baked some brownies and thought if I was going to make some I might as well go all out. These are certainly not the healthiest thing you could eat but they are worth all the calories.

Recipe from The Perfect Cookie by America’s Test Kitchen

Serving Size: 16

Ingredients:

Cream Cheese FILLING:

4 oz (115g) cream cheese — cut into 8 pieces
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp all-purpose flour

Brownie Batter:

2/3 cup (1oog) all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 oz (115g) unsweetened chocolate, chopped fine
8 tbsp (115g) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (200g) sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:

FOR THE CREAM CHEESE FILLING: Microwave cream cheese until soft, 20 to 30 seconds. Add sour cream, sugar, and flour and whisk to combine. Set aside.
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325F/160C. Make foil sling for 8-inch (20cm) square baking pan by folding 2 long sheets of aluminum foil so each is 8 inches wide. Lay sheets of foil in pan perpendicular to each other, with extra foil hanging over edges of pan. Push foil into corners and up sides of pan, smoothing foil flush to pan. Grease foil.
FOR THE BROWNIE BATTER: Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in bowl and set aside. Microwave chocolate and butter in bowl at 50 percent power, stirring occasionally, until melted, 1 to 2 minutes.
Whisk sugar, eggs, and vanilla together in medium bowl. Add melted chocolate mixture (do not clean bowl) and whisk until incorporated. Add flour mixture and fold to combine.
Transfer 1/2 cup batter to bowl used to melt chocolate. Spread remaining batter in prepared pan. Spread cream cheese filling evenly over batter.
Microwave bowl of reserved batter until warm and pourable, 10 to 20 seconds. Using spoon, dollop softened batter over cream cheese filling, 6 to 8 dollops. Using knife, swirl batter through cream cheese filling, making marbled pattern, 10 to 12 strokes, leaving 1/2-inch border around edges.
Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out with few moist crumbs attached, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Let cool in pan on wire rack for 1 hour.
Using foil overhang, lift brownies out of pan. Return brownies to wire rack and let cool completely, about 1 hour. Cut into 2-inch (5cm) squares and serve.

These are so dangerously delicious. I do love plain brownies but these are so much better, what can go wrong with chocolate and cream cheese, the best of two worlds. These are also more rich, creamy and moist than plain brownies. but you also get a little bit of the sourness from the cream cheese and sour cream, which helps to balance out the sweetness from the sugar and the richness of the chocolate. a super easy thing to bake that will definitely be a crowd pleaser. I should have doubled the recipe, these were gone so quickly.

I do not remember the last time I baked some brownies and thought if I was going to make some I might as well go all out. These are certainly not the healthiest thing you could eat but they are worth all the calories.

Recipe from The Perfect Cookie by America’s Test Kitchen

Serving Size: 16

Cream Cheese FILLING:

4 oz (115g) cream cheese — cut into 8 pieces

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp all-purpose flour

Brownie Batter:

2/3 cup (1oog) all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

4 oz (115g) unsweetened chocolate, chopped fine

8 tbsp (115g) unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups (200g) sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

FOR THE CREAM CHEESE FILLING: Microwave cream cheese until soft, 20 to 30 seconds. Add sour cream, sugar, and flour and whisk to combine. Set aside.

FOR THE BROWNIE BATTER: Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in bowl and set aside. Microwave chocolate and butter in bowl at 50 percent power, stirring occasionally, until melted, 1 to 2 minutes.

Whisk sugar, eggs, and vanilla together in medium bowl. Add melted chocolate mixture (do not clean bowl) and whisk until incorporated. Add flour mixture and fold to combine.

Transfer 1/2 cup batter to bowl used to melt chocolate. Spread remaining batter in prepared pan. Spread cream cheese filling evenly over batter.

Microwave bowl of reserved batter until warm and pourable, 10 to 20 seconds. Using spoon, dollop softened batter over cream cheese filling, 6 to 8 dollops. Using knife, swirl batter through cream cheese filling, making marbled pattern, 10 to 12 strokes, leaving 1/2-inch border around edges.

Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out with few moist crumbs attached, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Let cool in pan on wire rack for 1 hour.

Using foil overhang, lift brownies out of pan. Return brownies to wire rack and let cool completely, about 1 hour. Cut into 2-inch (5cm) squares and serve.