{This post was created as part of a sponsored series with Socialstars and SPLENDA® Brand; all opinions are my own}

Cheesecake Brownie is a delicious fudgy brownie topped with slightly tangy cheesecake that takes 5 minutes to throw together. This easy brownie recipe will become your favorite in no time!

I am super excited about the recipe I’m here to share with you. Originally I was trying to re-create a brownie that I like to get from my favorite coffee place. Somehow by doing tons of research on the ingredients, then studying the texture of the brownie I got exactly what I was looking for! I was so stoked when I tried them, that I kind of texted and snapchatted all my girlfriends, telling them that they just have to make these!

My family is not too big on the whole pumpkin thing, so for Thanksgiving we just make our favorite desserts, which might not be very traditional, but hey, it works for us, ha! So, with the big holiday being next week, guess what I’ll be making ;)? As we head into the binge-eating season (aka Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years), we have to be at least a bit conscious about the sugar intake, or we can predict our New Year’s resolutions right now.

With this in mind, I replaced all added sugar in the recipe with SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia Sweetener. The great-tasting, no calorie natural sweetener is made with stevia extract and gets its sweetness from Reb D, which means no funky aftertaste in whatever you use it in. Another great thing about SPLENDA®, is that they use no added flavors or colors, no preservatives and only non-GMO ingredients in their sweetener. By the way, you can visit their website to  get more recipes made with Splenda.

Here’s a little story – After a couple of consecutive successful batches of these Cheesecake Brownies, I was ready to take pictures and post them to the blog. I baked and cooled them, then let my family try a couple of bars and instructed them not to eat the rest as I was going to take pictures of them the next day. Next day I was too busy with school, so by the time I came back from school, the glass baking dish was empty :(. I whipped up another batch, let it cool again, this time I covered and hid the Cheesecake Brownies, as not to tempt anyone. Guess what I found when I came back home from school again? Yep, you guessed it. My faithful testers ate most of them once again, not leaving me much to take pictures of.

No brownies, but many, many compliments about how good they were. My husband said that if I was to sell these, I would become an instant millionaire and since he doesn’t throw words like that around often, I was even more excited that, I wasn’t the only one who thought that these brownies were awesome! Moral of the story, when you do decide to make these Cheesecake Brownies, make sure to double the recipe!

Cheesecake Brownie

Yield: 9-16 pieces  (One 8×8 baking pan)

Ingredients for the Brownie Mixture:

• milk chocolate chips (do not replace with dark chocolate)
• heavy cream (boiling hot)
• egg
• vanilla extract
• all-purpose flour
• baking powder

Ingredients for Cheesecake mixture:

• cream cheese
• egg yolk
• vanilla extract
• SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia Sweetener or 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• heavy cream

Also: 

• dark chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate

How to make Cheesecake Brownie:

Pour 1 cup boiling hot heavy cream over 2 cups of milk chocolate chips. Let sit for 1-2 minutes, then whisk until smooth.

Add 1 egg, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and whisk until smooth. Now add 1/3 cups flour and 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder and whisk again just until combined. Set aside.

Make the cheesecake:

Combine 1 egg yolk, 1/2 cup cream cheese, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 2-3 packets of SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia Sweetener – whisk until smooth. Add 2 tablespoons of heavy cream and whisk again. Drape a ziplock bag over a glass and fill it with the cheesecake filling. Seal the ziplock.

Pour the brownie batter into a pre-greased 8×8 (inches) glass or metal baking pan. Snip off the end of the ziplock bag with the cheesecake filling and pour zigzags of cheesecake over the brownie batter. Then using a fork or a knife go across the zigzags and swirl the cheesecake filling into the brownie batter. Sprinkle 1/4 cup or less of dark chocolate chips on top.
Bake in a preheated to 350F oven for about 30-35 minutes, turning the baking pan halfway through.

Once baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature before slicing. Slice into 9 equal squares and serve.
Cheesecake brownies can be frozen for up to 2 weeks, if wrapped well.

What do you guys make for Thanksgiving dessert? Do you stick to the traditional stuff or make something else?

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Cheesecake Brownie

5 from 1 vote

Cheesecake Brownie - delicious fudgy brownie topped with slightly tangy cheesecake that takes 5 minutes to throw together. 

Author: Marina | Let the Baking Begin

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: brownie, cheescake brownie

Calories: 229 kcal

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Servings: 16 servings

Ingredients

Ingredients for the Brownie Mixture:

• 2 cups milk chocolate chips do not replace with dark chocolate
• 1 cup heavy cream boiling hot
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder

Ingredients for Cheesecake mixture:

• 1/2 cup cream cheese
• 1 egg yolk
• 1-2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 packets of SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia Sweetener or 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 Tbsp heavy cream

Also:

• 1/4 cups dark chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate

Instructions

How to make Cheesecake Brownie:

1. Pour 1 cup boiling hot heavy cream over 2 cups of milk chocolate chips. Let sit for 1-2 minutes, then whisk until smooth.

2. Add 1 egg, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and whisk until smooth. Now add 1/3 cups flour and 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder and whisk again just until combined. Set aside.

Make the cheesecake:

1. Combine 1 egg yolk, 1/2 cup cream cheese, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 2-3 packets of SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia Sweetener - whisk until smooth. Add 2 tablespoons of heavy cream and whisk again. Drape a ziplock bag over a glass and fill it with the cheesecake filling. Seal the ziplock.

2. Pour the brownie batter into a pre-greased 8x8 (inches) glass or metal baking pan. Snip off the end of the ziplock bag with the cheesecake filling and pour zigzags of cheesecake over the brownie batter. Then using a fork or a knife go across the zigzags and swirl the cheesecake filling into the brownie batter. Sprinkle 1/4 cup or less of dark chocolate chips on top.

Bake in a preheated to 350°F oven for about 30-35 minutes, turning the baking pan halfway through.

1. Once baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature before slicing. Slice into 9-16 pcs pieces and serve.

Recipe Notes

Cheesecake brownies can be frozen for up to 2 weeks, if wrapped well.

Nutrition Facts

Cheesecake Brownie

Amount Per Serving

Calories 229 Calories from Fat 135

% Daily Value*

Fat 15g23%

Saturated Fat 9g56%

Cholesterol 56mg19%

Sodium 52mg2%

Potassium 53mg2%

Carbohydrates 20g7%

Sugar 15g17%

Protein 2g4%

Vitamin A 425IU9%

Vitamin C 0.2mg0%

Calcium 59mg6%

Iron 0.5mg3%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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Also, all you Walnut Lovers check out the Chocolate Walnut Brownie!

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