Dark Chocolate Brownies with Raspberry Cheesecake Swirl

I've been on a brownie kick lately. Nobody's complaining, least of all my husband (I think he got a little misty eyed when he got home and saw a big pan of gooey brownies waiting for him) and his co-workers, who get the benefit (curse?) of eating most of them. This recipe starts with a recipe for chocolate brownies from the Hershey's website, with a little added dark chocolate, swirled with a cheesecake mixture and raspberry preserves. Having made brownies from scratch a few times now, I have to admit homemade are better. These were REALLY good, probably some of the best brownies I've ever made. The brownie is dense but not heavy, super chocolately and rich, the cheesecake is smooth and creamy, and the fruity taste of the raspberry is a nice contrast to all the richness. Don't over do it when you're swirling the brownie and cheesecake together, you want thick swirls of cheesecake throughout the brownies. I'll definitely make these again, and maybe experiment with more "swirl ins"! :)

DARK CHOCOLATE BROWNIES WITH RASPBERRY CHEESECAKE SWIRL

INGREDIENTS:

For brownies:
1 cup butter
2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 eggs
3/4 cup Hershey's Cocoa
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

2 oz quality dark chocolate, finely chopped

For raspberry cheesecake swirl:
1 (8oz) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup raspberry preserves, seedless

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13" baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Place butter in large microwave-safe bowl and microwave until melted. Stir in sugar and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add cocoa and beat until well blended. Add flour, baking powder and salt and beat until just combined. Fold in dark chocolate. Pour batter into prepared pan.

3. In a medium bowl beat together cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. Drop heaping tablespoons of cheesecake mix into brownie batter. Drop heaping teaspoons of rasphberry preserves on top of cheesecake dollups. Run a knife through both mixtures to slightly swirl.

4. Bake 45 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan and a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan comes out clean. Cool completely in pan before cutting into bars and serving.

Chocolate Marshmallow Fluff Fondue

I recently started working the night shift at my job. It's a whole different animal when compared to working days - much more quiet, hardly anyone in the building, and the kookiest patients call us. One thing I miss is planning events with co-workers, we did that a LOT on day shift, so I decided to arrange a potluck at work. We had a dip party, and everyone brought their favorite dip. I made this chocolate marshmallow fluff fondue dip, because I've become aware that I'm seriously lacking in recipes involving marshmallow fluff. ;) This recipe is inspired by the gal who does the A Year of CrockPotting blog. I made some adjustments in the amounts of the ingredients and used half-and-half instead of whipping cream. It turned out really good, pretty sweet though, with just a hint of almond flavor.

CHOCOLATE MARSHMALLOW FLUFF FONDUE

INGREDIENTS:

1 (12 oz) bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 (7 oz) jar marshmallow fluff

1/2 cup half-and-half

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine chocolate chips, marshmallow fluff, half-and-half and almond extract in a mini crockpot. Set on low and heat for one hour, stirring frequently until chocolate is melted and smooth. Keep warm and serve with assorted fruit, angel/pound cake, etc. with skewers for dipping.

Double Peanut Butter Cheesecake Swirl Brownies

This recipe was adapted from BakingBlonde's cooking blog. It's a chocolate brownie swirled with a peanut butter cheesecake mix then topped with chopped peanut butter cups. In her version she makes the brownies from scratch, bless her heart, but with a 6-month-old I don't have the time or energy so I used a boxed mix. Her recipe is also for an 8x8 pan, mine is for a 9x13 so I've doubled the peanut butter swirl. Jeremy LOVES the peanut butter cups from Trader Joe's so we used those for topping, but Reese's would work just fine. These are crazy rich (I'm never one to say something is "too rich" but these are close) so I cut them into smaller squares than I normally would and sent them off with Jeremy to work. It got rave reviews! I'd recommend to make them a day before you plan to serve, it really enhances the flavor and texture.

DOUBLE PEANUT BUTTER CHEESECAKE SWIRL BROWNIES

INGREDIENTS:


For brownies:
1 box Duncan Hines Family Style Chewy Fudge brownies
3 eggs
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil

For peanut butter cheesecake swirl:
1 (8oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2/3 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Peanut butter cups, chopped, for topping (about 2 cups)



DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9x13 baking pan with nonstick spray.

2. In a large bowl, stir together brownie mix, eggs, water and oil until just blended - do not overmix. Set aside.

3. In a medium bowl beat together cream cheese, peanut butter, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add egg and beat until just combined.

4. Spread about 2/3 of chocolate brownie batter into prepared pan. Evenly drop 1/2 of cheesecake batter in dollups over brownie batter. Run a knife through both mixtures to slightly swirl. Dollop remaining brownie batter and cheesecake batter over swirled mixture. Run knife through the brownie and cheesecake dollups (not all the way through the already swirled layer) to create a swirled pattern.

5. Bake for about 35-40 minutes, then sprinkle chopped peanut butter cups over top of brownies. Finish baking until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely on wire rack before cutting and serving.