Red Velvet Brownies

HAPPY NATIONAL BROWNIE DAY!

RED VELVET BROWNIES

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, for pan

Brownie Layer:

2 stick unsalted butter

2 cup sugar

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup cocoa powder

Pinch salt

2 tablespoons red food coloring

2 teaspoons vinegar

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Cream Cheese Layer:

16 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Butter a 9 x 13-inch baking pan, and set aside.
Brownie layer: In a saucepan on medium heat melt the butter. Remove the butter to a large bowl and add the sugar, vanilla, cocoa powder, salt, food coloring, and vinegar, in that order, mixing between additions. Whisk the eggs in a small bowl and stir it into the cocoa mix. Fold in the flour until lightly combined. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, saving 1/2 cup of the batter for the top.
Cream cheese layer: Blend together the cream cheese, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Gently spread the cream cheese layer on top of the brownie batter in the pan. Dollop the remaining brownie batter over the cream cheese layer. Using a skewer or the tip of a knife, drag the tip through the cream cheese mixture to create a swirl pattern. Bake the brownies for 40-45 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely before cutting.

OREO CHEESECAKE

This recipe made 24 mini cheesecakes. I would recommend these if you're an Oreo fan, the Oreos kind of over power the cheesecake.

Oreo Cheesecake Bars
from Annie's Eats

 
For the crust:
23 Oreo cookies
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

For the cheesecake:
12 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
6 tbsp. sugar
6 tbsp. sour cream, at room temperature
½ tsp. vanilla extract
¼ tsp. salt
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
12 Oreo cookies, roughly chopped

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325˚ F.  Line an 8 x 8-inch baking dish with foil.  To make the crust, place the Oreos in the bowl of a food processor.  Process, pulsing, until the cookies are finely ground.  Add in the melted butter and pulse until the cookie crumbs are moistened.  Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking pan.  Press the crumbs into an even layer over the bottom of the pan.  Bake the crust for 10 minutes, then set aside and prepare the filling while maintaining the oven temperature.

To make the filling, add the cream cheese to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Beat on medium-high speed until light and smooth, about 2 minutes.  Mix in the sugar until well combined.  Blend in the sour cream, vanilla and salt.  Beat in the egg and egg yolk on medium-high speed until incorporated, scraping down the bowl as needed.  Stir in the chopped Oreos with a rubber spatula.

Pour the cheesecake batter over the prepared crust, smoothing the top with a spatula.  Bake for about 40 minutes, until the cheesecake is set around the edges but slightly wobbly in the center.  Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool about 1 hour to room temperature.  Cover the pan and refrigerate until well chilled, about 3 hours.

To cut the bars, pull the cake from the pan by lifting the foil up out of the pan.  Place on a cutting board, peel away the foil, and slice into bars.  Clean the knife blade between each slice to keep the edges neat.  Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

 

 

I halved the cheesecake recipe to make 24 mini cheesecakes.

Gingersnap Crust

1 1/2 cups crushed gingersnap cookies

1/3 cup melted butte.r

Combine and press firmly into bottom of 9 inch springform pan

Pumpkin Cheesecake

(from Paula Deen)

3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature

1 (15-ounce) can pureed pumpkin

3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk

1/4 cup sour cream

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

2 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add pumpkin puree, eggs, egg yolk, sour cream, sugar and the spices. Add flour and vanilla. Beat together until well combined.  Pour into crust. Spread out evenly and place oven for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours.