Cheesecake Brownies

In addition to the "regular" brownies that I made for Dani baby shower this week, I also wanted to do something else.  I was trolling the internet and saw a recipe for Halloween cheesecake brownies where they used food coloring to make the cheesecake orange and I thought that it was a great idea.  Only since we knew Dani was having a girl I could make them pink.  I didn't like that recipe though since it used packaged brownie mix and I didn't want to use packaged mix.  I did a little more digging and decided to use this recipe from Annie's Eats as my guide.

The end result was tasty but not exactly what I was looking for.  I wish there was a little bit more brownie base and like Annie said, it was difficult to swirl the two batters together.  Don't get me wrong, they tasted wonderful but just not exactly how I wished they had come out so I am still on the hunt for the perfect cheesecake brownie recipe because I can't think of a better flavor combination that those two.  So if anyone has any recipes that I could try out, send them my way!

Cheesecake Brownies
Slightly adapted from Annie's Eats

Ingredients:
For the brownies:
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
4 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup flour
1 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

For the cheesecake:
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk
5 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2-4 drops red food coloring (or your color of choice)

Directions:
Line a 9-inch suare baking dish with foil, making sure it goes up all four sides.  Mist lightly with nonstick cooking spray.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and chocolate, stirring until smooth.   Remove from the heat, then beat int he 2/3 cup sugar.  Mix in the eggs.  Fold in the flour, cocoa powder, salt and vanilla extract and mix until just incorporated.  Do not over mix at this point.  Gently fold in the walnuts.  Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.

To make the cheesecake layer, in a separate bowl beat together the cream cheese, egg yolk, sugar and vanilla extract until smooth.  Add in the food coloring, one drop at a time, and beat until you reach your desired color.  Drop in large dollops evenly over the top of the brownie batter.  Use a dull knife or a spatula to swirl the cream cheese mixture with the chocolate batter.

Bake for 35 minutes, or until the batter int he center of the pan is just set.  Let cool completely, then life out with the foil and peel away.  Cut brownies into squares.  Refrigerate when not serving.