Peppermint Cheesecake Brownies

Confession: I don't even like peppermint, but when I saw these brownies in Cooking Light, I knew I had to make them. Unfortunately, I was about halfway through the holidays when I realized that I didn't want any more sweets around. So I decided to save them to make for an open house we were going to on New Year's Day. Sure enough, they were a big hit. Reviews of the recipe said that the peppermint flavor wasn't terribly pronounced, so I doubled the amount of extract. Even I liked these!

Peppermint Cheesecake Brownies
adapted from Cooking Light, December 2008

Ingredients

Cheesecake Batter:
1 8 oz block of 1/3 reduced fat cream cheese
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1 tbsp all-purpose flour

Brownie Batter:
4.5 oz all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
2 large egg whites
Cooking Spray

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. To prepare cheesecake batter, place cheese in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add granulated sugar and peppermint extract; beat well. Add 1 egg and 1 egg white; beat well. Add 1 tablespoon flour; beat mixture just until blended.

3. To prepare brownie batter, weigh or lightly spoon 4.5 ounces (about 1 cup) flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine 4.5 ounces flour, cocoa, and salt in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Combine brown sugar, oil, buttermilk, vanilla, 2 egg whites, and 1 egg in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium-high speed until well blended. Add flour mixture to brown sugar mixture; beat at low speed just until blended.

4. Reserve 1/2 cup of brownie batter. Pour remaining batter into a 9-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray. Carefully pour cheesecake batter over top; spread evenly to edges. Dot cheesecake batter with reserved brownie batter. Swirl top two layers of batters together using the tip of a knife. Bake at 350° for 26 minutes or until top is set. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 213 (32% from fat)

Fat: 7.5g (sat 2.6g,mono 2.3g,poly 1.1g)

Protein: 4.4g

Carbohydrate: 32.3g

Fiber: 0.7g

Cholesterol: 37mg

Iron: 1.3mg

Sodium: 169mg

Calcium: 32mg