Cherry Cheesecake Brownies

Are you feeling that 3 o'clock lull? Craving something sweet to give you a boost and get you through the rest of the work day? Or maybe, just maybe, you just need a delicious dessert to take to Easter this weekend? Well, if any of the above is true, then this recipe is for you.

Granted, it won't cure your 3 o'clock blues today, but it could for tomorrow!!  

I love fudgy brownies. And cheesecake. OMG how I love cheesecake. And, I'm going to confess something to all of you...I have an unhealthy love for canned cherry pie filling. Like, I'd just as soon open up a can and eat it with a spoon than put it on anything. Now I don't actually do that, but I'd rather. And I don't use it very often, but it's drool-inducing when I do. So, when I saw this recipe come across my Facebook feed a few weeks back, I printed the recipe immediately. 

When I put it on my weekend menu of things to make, J asked me if I was making them for one of my "blog things" (meaning one of the groups I participate in, like What's Baking.) No dear. I just want them. In my belleh. Of course all baked goodies go to work, so my co-workers can enjoy them and keep me and J from indulging too much. 

My original plan was to make these on a Saturday and take them to work on Monday, but we got busy so I didn't make them until Sunday. And as usual, I didn't read ahead to know that I'd have to cool and then refrigerate them for FOUR hours before I could cut them up. Sad panda right here. 

So, instead of a Monday treat, the co-workers (and yours truly) had to wait and extra day. But let me just tell you folks, these babies were most definitely worth the wait. The brownies are definitely fudgy, though not as "soft" as traditional brownies, and the cheesecake and cherry topping was sinfully delicious. If I'm honest, I just wanted to scrape that part off and eat it all, sans brownie. But I did not. 

J is not a sweets eater, typically, nor does he care for chocolate much.  Yet, even he ate a couple of squares the night that I cut them up. And he loved them. And then he blamed me for "making" him eat them. Of course he does love cheesecake. I think it's his one dessert weakness. 

And these will now be yours. Thankfully (I think?) the richness of this treat makes one enough to take care of any sweets craving you may have. For a little while at least. I definitely suggest having friends, co-workers or family to share them with. Left alone with a pan of these could be dangerous to the mid-section. I'm just sayin'. Do what you will, but you have been warned!!

Fudgy brownies topped with creamy cheesecake and cherry pie filling. Sinfully delicious. 

Cherry  Cheesecake Brownies

As seen on The Recipe Critic

Ingredients

For the brownie layer

• 1 cup butter
• 6 oz unsweetened chocolate
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 eggs
• 1¼ cup flour

For the cheesecake layer

• 2 (8 oz pkgs) cream cheese
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 egg
• ½ tsp vanilla
• 1 (21 oz) can of cherry pie filling

Preparation

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees, line a 13x9 inch cake pan with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray. Set aside. 
2. For the brownie layer: In a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter and chocolate, 30 seconds at a time and stirring each time, until melted and smooth. Make sure the chocolate doesn't burn! Add the sugar and vanilla and stir to mix. Then add the eggs and flour and mix until well incorporated. 
3. For the cheesecake layer: In the bowl of a stand mixer or other large bowl if using a hand mixer, beat together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth and fluffy.  Add the egg and vanilla and mix until smooth.
4. Spread the brownie mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking pan, using a spatula to smooth it out evenly. 
5. Then use a spatula or spoon to drop globs of the cheesecake mixture on top of the brownie mixture. You can smooth this out or leave in globs to achieve a marbled look after adding the pie filling. 
6. Finally, drop spoonfuls of the pie filling on top and, if desired, use a knife to drag from end-to-end, spreading the cheesecake and pie filling into a marbled look. I did not do globs therefore I did not get the marbled look. Next time I will, it's so pretty!
7. Bake for 45-50 minutes until the cheesecake turns lightly brown on the edges. The cheesecake center will still jiggle a bit. Cool completely and then refrigerate for 4 hours before cutting. The foil lining in the cake pan makes it easy to pull out of the pan and cut.