I recently tried what I think will be my final "One Sweet Cookie" recipe – the Cheesecake Brownies by Nicole Kaplan of the Institute of Culinary Education. The brownies took several hours to make – one has to first make the brownie/chocolate layer and then freeze the batter for several hours before adding the cheesecake layer. The recipe was otherwise fairly simple and easy to follow, though unlike the recipe directions, the cheesecake layer did not set after 40 minutes of baking, nor 55 minutes of baking. After some frantic googling, I decided to not risk overbaking the brownies and instead took them out of the oven at approximately 55 minutes of baking. Only 1 inch around the edges were fully set, but I followed the counsel of internet posts that stated that the brownies were firm up after cooling and being placed in the fridge or freezer.
Sadly, the brownies never really firmed up, but the result was still very tasty, albeit very rich. The chocolate layer was very dense and fudgy, and the cheesecake layer was a pretty intense sweet cheese flavor as well.
I brought the brownies to a dinner get-together, and they were a hit. I think this is a great recipe to re-try during cold weather months, though I may end up reducing the cream cheese from 1.5 pounds to 1 or 0.75 pounds to make a more manageable dessert experience (and reduce the required cooking time). I might also try a different brownie base that is slightly less fudgy and more cake-like in consistency. In any case, I'll keep in my mind that folks really seemed to like this dessert in its original form – including Noah, who kept asking for more!
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