Cheesecake Brownie Bars

Last week while the kids and I were waiting in line to check out at the grocery store, we were looking at the magazine covers.  Most of them really made me wish that stores would stop stocking headline grabbing magazines in the checkout aisle where my kids can read many things that I wish they wouldn’t.  We had to wait some time this particular day, and the longer we waited, the more I tried to get their attention away from the more scandalous rags on display.  When Abigail and I settled our eyes upon the issue of Family Circle magazine, it made us look twice.  And the more we looked at it, the more we wanted to know what that “thing” on the cover was.  She smiled at me sweetly, so I put the magazine on the belt to come home with us.

Admittedly, I wasn’t expecting much from this recipe. Family Circle isn’t exactly renowned for superior cuisine, and I truly was expecting that this recipe for “Cheesecake Brownie Bars” was going to involve, at the very least, a box of brownie mix.

So imagine my surprise and delight when I found the recipe and discovered a completely made from scratch entity.  A homemade brownie layer, topped with a homemade cheesecake layer, and then baked together until set.  We were having company in just a few days, and there was no way we were not going to make this and give it a try.

There are multiple steps, as one would expect from a homemade multiple layer dessert, but none of the steps were overly time consuming, and really, what made me the happiest was that the whole thing baked together one time- I had envisioned the pan going in and out of the oven for multiple stages of baking.   I only made one change to the recipe, and that was to use straight up semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of the bittersweet called for- and I have to tell you, I made the right move there.

I topped our servings with diced strawberries that I’d tossed with homemade jam, and a dollop of freshly whipped cream.  It was delicious.  This is the type of dish that would be great for a casual potluck, or could be gussied up for a more formal affair.  The cheesecake was nice and dense, but not too rich.  The brownie layer was a great base, and the strawberries were perfection on top.  I left out the idea of the hot fudge sauce on top as well- the strawberries were the perfect foil to cut the richness of this dessert, I think hot fudge sauce would have overtaken the delicateness of the chocolate-strawberry-cheesecake triple play that was going on in the mouth.   You can see in my photo below I used fresh berries and chocolate syrup to dress up my piece for the photo- but it was the fruit that took the cheesecake into the land of exceptional.  The added chocolate was not necessary, and actually detracted from the dessert.

I have plans to tweak this just a bit, that I confess.  I’d like to try and make this in my sheet pans, to thin out the brownie layer a bit, and lighten the whole thing up for a crowd over the summer.  My cheesecake layer rose up over the pan as it baked (and my pan was very full), but it settled down nicely after the requisite chilling.   A delightful recipe from an unexpected place- I love it when that happens!

Cheesecake Brownie Bars

Cheesecake Layer:

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/2 cup sugar

3 packages (8 ounces each) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened

3 large eggs

3/4 cup sour cream

2/3 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Brownie Layer:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

5 squares (1 ounce each) unsweetened chocolate

1-3/4 cups sugar

4 large eggs

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 bag (12 ounces) bittersweet chocolate chips

Optional Toppings:

3 tablespoons strawberry jelly

1 package (12 ounces) strawberries, hulled and chopped

1/4 cup hot fudge sauce, heated

1 container (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed

Chopped hazelnuts, for garnish (optional)

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan with foil. Coat foil with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

2. Cheesecake: In large bowl, whisk cornstarch and sugar until blended. Add cream cheese, and beat until smooth. Beat in eggs, sour cream and milk. Stir in vanilla; set aside

3. Brownie: In large microwave-safe bowl, combine butter and chocolate. Microwave for 1 minute, 30 seconds. Stir. If necessary, continue heating in 30-second increments, stirring after each, until chocolate is melted.

4. Whisk in sugar, then eggs. Whisk in flour, baking powder and salt until smooth. Stir in vanilla and chocolate chips. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Pour cream cheese mixture over brownie mixture. Spread gently until smooth.

5. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour and 5 minutes or until center is set. Cool on wire rack to room temperature, about 2 hours. Transfer to refrigerator and continue to cool 2 hours.

6. Topping: Heat jelly in microwave-safe bowl for 15 seconds. Stir in berries. Heat fudge sauce in a glass cup in microwave for 25 seconds, until drizzling consistency.

7. Cut cheesecake brownie into 32 squares. Dollop each square with about 1 tablespoon whipped topping, then some of the strawberries and fudge topping. Sprinkle with nuts, if desired.