Mom...please bring cheesecake brownies

It was my turn to bring "snacks" for my daughter's volleyball game.  I hesitate to even call it a snack because some people go all out and bring a full meal.  I don't know about you but I remember not being very hungry when I finished playing a basketball game, but I guess that was back in the olden days.  Anyway, I decided that I was going to veer away from the normal pizza, hot dogs, etc and bring some bread rolls filled with lots of fresh salad and meat.

Since we were having something somewhat healthy my daughter asked if I could make cheesecake brownies as dessert.  Ever since I made these for a bake sale at the school last year they have become a favorite.  Using a pre-packaged brownie mix makes them super easy to make, but it doesn't take that much longer to make them from scratch.  The cream cheese mixture for the top is also quick and easy with only three ingredients (four if you include my addition of vanilla extract or vanilla paste).

I used a great recipe from Lovin' From the Oven.  I did use a boxed mix for the brownies by Ghirardelli this time and made an addition to the cream cheese mixture.

Cheesecake Brownies

Ingredients 

For the brownie

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar (white)

4 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup all purpose flour

½ cup cocoa

½ teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 8"x8" pan. Melt butter in saucepan over low heat. Once melted remove from heat and add sugar, vanilla, and eggs. Blend together. In separate bowl, mix together flour, cocoa, and salt. Add dry mixture to the wet and mix well. Pour into greased pan.

For the cheesecake swirl

8 oz (1 package) cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup sugar (you can use 1/3 cup if you want it sweeter)

1 egg

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon of vanilla paste

Beat the cream cheese and sugar mixture together. Add the egg and vanilla and continue beating until creamy. Drop rounded teaspoons on top of the brownie batter and then swirl using a knife. Bake for approximately 50-60 minutes, or until done.