I must warn you before you start reading this post. You are going to want to make this recipe and eat it all in one sitting. At least that is what I wanted to do. However, I advise against that choice. Savor it, indulge, enjoy. You see it all started last year when my mother gave me a Philadelphia Cream Cheese cookbook. I love that thing. It has everything from desserts, to main dishes in it, and all the food is soooo good. Of course, cream cheese isn't the best thing for you, so I try to only pull this cookbook out on special occasions. I have found out in the past year though, that special occasions to me equals not only holidays and birthdays, but when I am stressed, or bored, or angry. Cooking is my escape, and cream cheese and chocolate are my weaknesses. Hence, with this week being "dead week" at school, and finals being just around the corner, the stress has officially kicked in. Thus the cream cheese cookbook came out. This time I tried out a recipe called Philly Brownie Cheesecake. Now I had never made cheesecake before so I thought of this as an adventure. And what is an adventure without pictures to document it? So below is a picture journey through my baking experience. I will post the entire and "official" recipe at the bottom of the post. Enjoy...
First get yourself a box of brownies. It doesn't have to be anything fancy or special. I just used this wonderful box of Betty Crocker that was on sale and I had a coupon!!!
Mix the brownie mix like the box tells you to. Our apartment enjoys our brownies with chocolate chips in them, so I added some into the mix before popping it into the oven. I used about half a bag of morsels, and saved the other half for a little later on :)
Spray or grease, or butter or however you prefer a 9x13 baking dish. Pour the brownie mix in and cook in the oven at 325 for 25 minutes. Don't fret about what the box tells you to do. You do not want your brownies to be done all of the way since you are going to end up baking them again in the next part of the recipe.
When it comes out of the oven it should look and nice and shiny on top. Sit it over to the side to cool while you do the next part.
Here is where the fun part comes in. 4 boxes of cream cheese!!!! Soften/melt the cream cheese and mix it until it is smooth. You can use a mixer on low if you would like. I have never owned a mixer and grew up mixing everything by hand so that is what I did and it came out nice and smooth. And this dessert is an indulgence, so using a little elbow grease to burn off some extra calories before eating it was perfectly okay to me.
Next you are going to add your sugar and your vanilla. Mix it until it is smooth. I found that adding in the sugar a little bit at a time instead of all at once made it a bit easier to stir and get smooth and creamy.
Now add a cup of sour cream. MMMM....this recipe just keeps getting better and better. I love to bake!!!
Now add in your eggs one at a time, mixing until smooth between each one. Make sure that your mixture is at room temperature or cooler before you add the eggs. From where you softened your cream cheese, it might still be a little warm. You don't want to end up with scrambled eggs in your cheesecake batter.
Finally, mix it all until it is nice and creamy with no lumps. Wow that looks good.
Pour your cheesecake mixture on top of your semi-cooked brownies. Smooth out the top so it will bake evenly. Bake the cheesecake and brownie mixture for 40 minutes at 325.
When your yummy dessert is done baking sit it out to cool. While it is cooling, melt the remainder of your chocolate morsels, and drizzle over the top. We like out chocolate here in the apartment so I drizzled a bunch, but you can do as little or as much as you would like. When it has cooled to room temperature, place into the refrigerator and chill for four hours. Then you are ready to eat and enjoy...but at your own risk!!!
Just typing out this post makes me want to go into the kitchen and grab a piece. I don't think that would be wise though since I just had breakfast and I have not even gone outside to go to class yet. I need to burn a few more calories today before I can divulge in this little slice of heaven! I encourage y'all to try this out and tell me what you think about it. Or even better, share with me some of your favorite not so healthy recipes with me so I can add them to my "special occasion" arsenal of recipes. I love you all and I am always praying that your journey is blessed! Happy Thursday y'all!
-Sara
Philly Brownie Cheesecake:
What you need:
- 1 pkg. (19-21 oz) brownie mix (9x13 pan size)
- 4 pkg. (8oz) cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 3 eggs
- 1 bag chocolate morsels
Make it:
- heat oven to 325
- prepare brownie batter as directed on package. Pour into 9x13 pan sprayed with cooking spray. Bake 25 minutes or until top is shiny and center is almost set.
- Meanwhile, beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl until well blended. Add sour cream and mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each egg.
- Gently pour over brownie layer mix in pan (filling will almost come to the top of the pan).
- Bake 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Run knife or metal spatula around the pan to loosen sides. Cool.
- Melt chocolate and drizzle over the top of the cheesecake.
- Refrigerate for four hours.
-ENJOY!!!!!
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