Raspberry Cheesecake Swirl Brownies

I think I’m addicted to baking. Ok, I know I’m addicted to baking, but I think it’s starting to get out of hand. It’s definitely having an impact on my wallet and my waistline, but I just can’t stop. I try to cut back and it just makes me want to bake even more. I really don’t know how I’m going to handle the upcoming kitchen renovation…

Today was an example of why I say my baking is out of control. I had no plans to bake – usually I plan at least a week in advance what I’m going to bake. It gives me time to day dream about how it will all turn out and come up with a plan. Anyways, I was just sitting around looking through my Google Reader and thinking about random ingredients in the fridge. I was trying to figure out what to make for dinner. Then I remembered there was a block of cream cheese in the fridge and stumbled upon the recipe for these brownies. I loved the idea of them and had never made a cheesecake/brownie before. Doing a quick mental check, I realized I had everything in stock and before I knew it the batter was going into the oven. Just like that, in 30 minutes time, I had gone from trying to find a meal for dinner to anxiously waiting for the timer to go off for my brownies.

These little guys are very rich, so I cut them pretty small. Usually, I would cut brownies from an 8×8 pan into 16 pieces. Maybe even only 9. But I cut these into 25. And it’s a good thing I did. They are definitely rich. They got rave reviews from Hubby’s coworkers which always makes me smile. In fact, he said that he got more comments from these brownies than he usually does which is a good indication that these guys are amazing.

Raspberry Cheesecake Swirl Brownies – from Baking Bites – makes 25 brownies1/2 cup butter, room temperature
2-oz dark chocolate, chopped
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt

8-oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup raspberry preserves/jam

Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8×8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil and lightly grease.

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. Drop dollops of raspberry preserves into the cheesecake batter. Gently swirl batters with a butter knife, giving the brownies a swirly look.

Bake for 35-40 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.