Cheesecake Brownie Bites

What's better than fresh chewy brownie bites? Fresh chewy CHEESECAKE brownie bites. I found a variant of this recipe on Pinterest a few days ago, and upon discovering a near-expiration package of cream cheese in my refrigerator, decided that today was the day to give it a go. Prepackaged sweets were a childhood taboo in my household: I spent many elementary school lunches attempting to trade spiced granola and carrot sticks for Hostess brownie bites and Twinkies. In retrospect, my mother's military-strict nutrition standards were admirable; but despite my rigorously healthy upbringing, I still haven't quite overcome the spike in saliva upon passing the Hostess aisle in my local Publix.

As always, the solution evokes vibes of the 1950's-era antifeminism that I work so delicately to avoid: bake your own.

Well, hello, lovely.

Cheesecake Brownie Bites

Ingredients:

For the brownie batter:
4 large eggs
1¼ cups baking cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 Tablespoon instant espresso powder, mixed with 2 teaspoons water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2¼ cups sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, melted
1½ cups all-purpose flour

For the cheesecake filling:
1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 large egg yolk

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, baking cocoa, salt, baking powder, espresso mixed with water, and vanilla until well combined.

3. Stir in the sugar and melted butter until well combined, then stir in the flour. (A firm rubber spatula works best.) Set brownie batter aside.

4. In a separate bowl, prepare the cheesecake filling by stirring together the cream cheese, sugar and egg yolk until well combined. Transfer the mixture to a pastry bag or plastic bag.

5. Grease a non-stick mini-muffin pan with cooking spray or butter and then spoon a tablespoon of brownie batter into the greased cups. Pipe a generous amount of cheesecake filling atop the brownie batter, and then top off each cup with an additional teaspoon of brownie batter. If desired, use a toothpick to mix the cheesecake filling with the brownie mix for a marble effect (as I have done.)

6. Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

7. Let the brownie bites cool for 10 minutes in the pan before eating.

Happy summer eating!

--Alyssa