Brownie Cheesecake Bars

Brownie cheesecake bar with a thick layer of original cheesecake on it!

This is just a friendly reminder that, if the weather forecast requires a weekend of hail, snow, and ice and you usually pick up cake ingredients on Friday nights - make other arrangements.

For your own sanity, please make other arrangements.

The grocery store was crowded on Friday. It was really too crowded to drive carts, so I dragged a basket full of 14 pounds of flour and sugar, plus chocolate chips, butter, cocoa powder, and cream cheese (all that is important for these cheese brownies - we will get to them, I promise). One woman made a crazy sign for one of the last 16 toilet paper packs in town to almost dropping the basket from my handle at one point.

When there are snowflakes in the forecast, people go into survival mode - determined to get toilet paper at any cost.

And then, when I was really ready to be comfortable in the kitchen, there was nothing to do but bake more cheesecakes than I could eat by myself (or, at least, more than I had ever admitted eating on my own), we just get a sprinkling of hail and the streets remain almost completely impassable - making a frenzied rush of milk and loaves of bread no use.

Still, it was a gray day and I took full advantage of the cold weather to make these decadent simple cheesecake brownies.

With their fudgy brownie subordinates (really fudgy, if you use my brownie recipe) and their sweet and creamy cheesecake tops, they are the perfect bright spot on a cloudy day.

Ingredients
Brownie

• One batch of Best Brownies Dough - instant coffee is eliminated *

cheesecake

• 32-ounce soft cream cheese (907g)
• 1 cup of sugar (200g)
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate Drizzle (optional)

• 1/2 cup of semisweet chips or dark chocolate wafers (85 g)

Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 325F
2. Prepare the brownie mixture according to the Best Ever Brownies instructions (or package instructions, if using a box mixture).
3. Apply evenly to the bottom of a 9x13 pan that is lubricated and smeared (alternatively, coat the pan with foil and then spray with cooking spray - this will make it easy to lift the brownies/cheesecake out of the pan and make a clean cut after it's cooled).
4. Bake at 325F for 20 minutes, or until the center is almost set (it should not be still runny, and the edges will look somewhat cooked).
5. When the brownies are cooked, prepare your cheesecake.

cheesecake

1. In a standing mixer (or in a large bowl with a hand stirrer), shake the cream cheese and softened sugar, rub the sides with a spatula occasionally to make sure the mixture is evenly mixed. (shake with medium speed around 1-2 minutes, rub occasionally, must be thick and evenly mixed).
2. Add sour cream & stir well, stopping once to scrape the sides before mixing again.
3. Add eggs, one at a time beat until mixed after each addition (and rub the sides after each addition)
4. Stir in vanilla extract.
5. After the brownies are finished baking (don't turn off your oven), spread the cheesecake evenly over the brownie layer.
6. Bake at 325F for 40 minutes, or until the center is set (not runny, bounces back to touch).
7. Let it cool to room temperature, and then place it in the refrigerator at least 6 hours before cutting and serving.

Chocolate Drizzle (optional)

1. After cooling and cutting the cheesecake box, melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl with an additional 15 seconds (stirring thoroughly) until it melts.
2. Use a spoon to flush chocolate over the stem or, for a neater design, pour the chocolate into a Ziploc bag and cut into small corners. Immediately pipe above the desired box.
3. Return to the fridge for a few minutes until the chocolate set.

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