I don’t know where the time goes between the moment I step inside my apartment after a full day of work and…well, now.  It is now 10pm as I type, the minutes slipping by as I think of what to say next…

Pumpkins.  Before this holiday season, I was completely averse to pumpkin pies, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin anything, really.  Why?  Because whenever I ate something that had pumpkin, there was a taste of something unpleasant, reminiscent of trips to the dentist when I would smell the dental filling or whatever it was he was putting in my mouth.  Until I had my friend G’s pumpkin cheesecake, which I wrote about in a much earlier post and even included the recipe.  And I realized, not all pumpkin dishes have that funny, medicinal taste that reminds me of the smell of dental filling.  He managed to leave out that something that made me dislike pumpkin pies and cheesecakes.

And so because of this little revelation, that not all pumpkin pies and cheesecakes were evil, I then attempted my own pumpkin pie.  That one was also a success and I also fell in like with the recipe (the recipe had cream cheese and I can’t resist cream cheese-based desserts).  Tonight, I bring you…the pumpkin cheesecake swirl brownie!

(from Perry’s Plate blog, which was adapted from Cara’s Cravings)

Brownie Batter:
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 T vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Cheesecake Batter:
6 oz cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/3 cup sugar
2 T flour
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp each ground ginger and ground cloves

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8×8″ or a 11×7″ baking pan.

For the Brownies:
Beat together melted butter, sugar, and vanilla, then beat in eggs one at a time. Combine dry ingredients in small bowl, and then gradually stir into butter mixture by hand.

For the Cheesecake:
In another bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in remainder of ingredients until smooth.

Spread about 2/3 of chocolate batter into prepared pan. Spread the pumpkin batter over top, distributing evenly. Drop the remaining brownie batter over cheesecake batter. To make the swirls, run a butter knife back and forth through the pan.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the center doesn’t jiggle when you nudge the pan. Cool completely and chill before cutting and serving.

The rest of the brownie batter was put onto the cheesecake layer in drops.

 

 

And that is how the story goes.  Since the pan was huge, I did end up baking for over an hour.  Originally, my mom’s recipe calls for baking at 325 F for 45 minutes minimum, but since there was the added factor of the cheesecake, it took a little over an hour.

As predicted, these brownies were incredibly indulgent and rich.  Two small slices and I literally felt them settling down in my stomach.  Quite heavy, but they definitely hit the spot.  The kind of brownies that would induce a bout of self-hatred should one overindulge.  But it would be well worth it!  If I believed that you really could find  your way to a man’s heart through his stomach, these brownies would be my magic slippers to carry me down that road.

I think next time I’ll be trying the first pumpkin cream cheese swirl bars that I found.  Just to compare and contrast with this one…