Cheesecake Marbled Brownines

I've been neglecting you, haven't I? Earlier J chastised me for sitting over here on my butt hoarding delicious recipes from you. You see, it's been crazy around here and right in the midst of the craziness, the internet went kaput. It took 5 days and two technicians to figure out that someone at the main hub had unhooked something accidentally and then reconnected them backwards... *sighs*

I've also been stressed to the max dealing with family drama, friend drama, work drama, and not getting any sleep because someone is working extreme overnights... drama. It's thrown my whole schedule off and I'm a girl who likes her routines. On top of that, this weather has been a total buzz kill. You don't want to stay in, you don't want to go out. I find myself foolishly wishing for Summer but I know once it gets here, I'll be asking for Fall.

However, it does look like things are finally starting to calm down here. This week there is a better work schedule which Ive been praying for. And a lighter one at that. On Tuesday I have a big, important meeting. If you wanna know, email me. And thanks to my mother, I can rarely feel good about showing up anywhere without bringing some sort of goodies for the bunch. I figure I will bring my Peanut Butter and Jelly bars because they really are a huge hit. But I also want to bring something new. A knockout. Something totally unexpected from me and that is brownies. Cheesecake Marbled Brownies to be exact.

Cookies I can do. Cakes, casseroles, and candies are a breeze but brownies... ehhh. I could never get them quite right. I'm a very picky brownie eater. I like them thick, fudgy, soft, and not too rich.And whenever I would make them they would come out overdone, underdone, crunchy, too rich... never what I was hoping. So why on Earth I even attempted another batch is beyond me but I did. Maybe it was the combination of chocolate and cheesecake that I couldn't stay away from OR Deb's lovely pictures but I got sucked in yet again and BOY... am I glad!!

I feel like a rockstar. I can't even tell you. I tested this recipe four times with homemade brownie mix and box mix; with the cheesecake dolloped and swirled and spread and folded. Either way they were PERFECT. Not one flaw. I used my Perfect Brownie Pan which was pretty amazing I might say. And I did come out with a slight preference for style in the end.

While every version was fantastic, I prefer the cheesecake batter evenly spread over the brownie mix and then folded into it with a butter knife. It gave the best distribution of cheesecake to brownie in every bite. The handmade mix was great but the box mix was just fine. I used Ghiradelli Double Chocolate and a Duncan Hines Triple Chocolate.

The cheesecake mixture sets up wonderfully and tastes divine. It is not over powered by the rich chocolate and even does this wonderful thing to the brownie batter where it kind of sets up like the cheesecake itself. They are sooo moist and soft. A little too soft in fact which I hate to say because I do prefer a softer brownie. I found that when they look done, cook them five more minutes. Each subsequent batch turned out better than the one before. And my friends demolished the first pan in a couple hours :) As Deb says in her description.. I think they would make great bribing material for many occasions.

They are quick ( I had everything needed in the house for the box mix version) delicious, and addictive. Great with coffee or a tall glass of milk everyone will be soo pleased.

Cheesecake Marbled Brownies

NOTES:

1. Box mixes work great. My last batch was the Ghiradelli Double Chocoalte mix with the cheesecake batter evenly spread over the brownie mix and then folded into the brownie mix with the tip of a butter knife. I even threw a little bit of left over Ghiradelli White Chocolate chips into the brownie batter. These were my favorite and how I will be making them from now on.

2. They fooled me. I thought they looked done when the timer went off on the first batch. And while they weren't actually raw... they were very hard to handle. I baked each subsequent batch five minutes longer and was never disappointed. Yes, some of the cheesecake batter browned, no this did NOT affect the flavor.

3. They might hold up better stored in the fridge if you expect them to last longer then 24 hours just sitting around. Mine never did :)