Peppermint Cheesecake Brownies

You can tint the cheesecake batter with two or three drops of red food coloring to give it a pink tinge, if you like. When swirling the cheesecake and brownie batters in step 4, don't disturb the bottom brownie layer. Cool these bars completely before serving.

Yield: 16 servings (serving size: 1 bar)

Ingredients

• Cheesecake batter:
• 1  (8-ounce) block 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
• 1/3  cup  granulated sugar
• 1/4  teaspoon  peppermint extract
• 1  large egg
• 1  large egg white
• 1  tablespoon  all-purpose flour
• 
  Brownie batter:
• 4.5  ounces  all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
• 1/2  cup  unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1 1/2  cups  packed brown sugar
• 1/4  cup  canola oil
• 1/4  cup  buttermilk
• 2  teaspoons  vanilla extract
• 2  large egg whites
• 1  large egg
• 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