Tomorrow is of course St. Patrick’s Day! How do you celebrate, if at all? For us it varies year from year as to what we do or do not do. This year I’ve just made this yummy dessert. Dinner is going to be something very simple and well, not so very Irish,haha!
You can not go wrong with cheesecake or brownies so, mixing them together is a very happy and satisfying thing. These are chocolaty, minty, fudgy and beautiful with the color green added to the cheesecake.
The original recipe calls for a 11×7 pan. Not something I personally own. I made it in an 8×8 pan. My favorite, well pretty much my husband’s favorite brownie pan size. They come out nice and tall, thick and all around delicious. So feel free to adjust it to your favorite pan size.
If you are at a loss as to what to make that will please everyone, try these! I am pretty sure they won’t disappoint even the pickiest of palettes.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day Everyone!!
- For The Brownie:
- ½ Cup Salted Butter
- 8 Ounces Chopped Semi-Sweet Chocolate
- 1¼ Cups Sugar
- 3 Large Eggs
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ⅛ Teaspoon Peppermint Extract (optional)
- ¾ Cup All-Purpose Flour
- ¼ Teaspoon Salt
- For The Minty Cheesecake Layer:
- 8 Ounces Cream Cheese, room temperature
- ¼ Cup Sugar
- 1 Egg Yolk
- ¼-1/2 Teaspoon Peppermint Extract (add more or less to your taste)
- 2+ drops Liquid Green Food Coloring or Gel. (I used quite a bit, like 15 drops)
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottom and sides of an 11 x 7 baking pan or any size you prefer, with aluminum foil, leaving an overhang on all sides. Set aside.
- Melt butter and semi-sweet chocolate in a medium saucepan on medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature (about 15 minutes).
- Stir sugar into cooled chocolate/butter mixture until combined. Add in the eggs one at a time, whisking until smooth after each addition. Whisk in the vanilla & peppermint extract. Fold in the flour and salt. Pour batter into prepared pan, reserving ¼ cup of batter.
- To Make The Cheesecake:
- With a hand-held mixer on medium speed or a stand mixer, beat the softened cream cheese, ¼ cup sugar, egg yolk, ¼-1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract, and 2 or more drops of food coloring in a medium bowl until completely smooth - about 1 minute. Using a cookie scoop dollop the cream cheese mixture on top of the prepared brownie batter. The with the cookie scoop, dollop the last ¼ cup of brownie batter. Tap down on your counter the pan so it settles a bit. Glide a knife through the layers, creating a swirl pattern.
- Bake brownies for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out almost clean. Depending on the size pan you use it may take longer to bake. Check them at the 30 minute mark to be sure. Allow brownies to cool completely before cutting into squares. Brownies stay fresh stored in the refrigerator for 1 week.