Cheesecake Brownie Bites

                    
                      Happy Valentine's Day!

For Valentine's Day, it just has to be chocolate something, right? I've had this recipe in my file for ages and finally made them for a luncheon. Women will refuse a dessert for lunch, but if you put a plate of little gems like this out, they're gone in no time. So rich, dense and smooth that you really only want a couple bites....sort of like candy, but better, I think. Minis are definitely the way to go with this sweet treat. Your whole family will go nuts over them and they freeze beautifully.

Cheesecake Brownie Bites
Found on Just a Taste

Ingredients:

For the brownie batter:

4 large eggs

1¼ cups baking cocoa, sifted

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

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, baking cocoa, salt, baking powder, espresso mixed with water, and vanilla until well combined. Stir in the sugar and melted butter until well combined, then stir in the flour. Set brownie batter aside.

In a separate bowl, prepare the cheesecake filling by stirring together the cream cheese, sugar and egg yolk until well combined. 

Grease a non-stick mini-muffin pan with cooking spray or butter and then spoon a tablespoon of brownie batter into the greased cups. Add a spoonful of cheesecake filling atop the brownie batter. At this point, I took a toothpick and swirled a little. Then top off each cup with an additional teaspoon of brownie batter. Swirl again.

Bake for about 12 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Let the brownie bites cool for 10 minutes in the pan and then transfer them to a cooling rack to continue cooling, or enjoy warm.