Mini Cheesecake Brownies

It's rare when I find someone who doesn't like brownies or cheesecake... and that's why these bite-sized cheesecake brownie bites are always a hit. 

Ingredients:

For the Brownies:

• 2/3 cup of Semisweet Chocolate Chips 
• ¼ cup of Unsalted Butter
• 2 Eggs
• 1/8tsp of Salt
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp of Vanilla Extract
• 2/3 cup of All Purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp of Cocoa Powder
• 1 cup Granulated Sugar

** If you do not want to make your OWN brownie mix, try Ghirardelli Chocolate Supreme**

For the cheesecake:

• 3 oz of Cream Cheese (room temperature)
• 1 ½ tbsp of Sugar
• 1 small Egg yolk

Process:

1) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Dress a 30 count, mini muffin tin with liners and non-stick cooking spray. It's OK to get some in the mini liners, because the brownies sometimes get stuck to the paper. Set aside.

2) Melt the chocolate and butter in the microwave and stir together. Check on it every 30 seconds, so it doesn't burn.

3) In a large bowl, beat together the eggs and sugar 1-2 minutes, until light and smooth. Add the sugar and mix until combined. Add the melted chocolate mixture, vanilla and stir everything to combine.

4) Add the flour, cocoa and salt and mix until JUST combined. Do not over mix!

5) With a teaspoon or small ice cream scoop, fill each lined muffin cup about 2/3 of the way up.

6) In a small bowl, cream together the cream cheese, sugar and egg yolk. Using a small spoon, drop a teaspoon amount of cream cheese mix on top of each one.

7) Bake for 20 minutes and let them cool completely before serving.

This is a very basic recipe. Feel free to spice it up by adding sour cream to the cream cheese, coffee to the brownie mixture, etc. Experiment and enjoy!

--Chels