RASPBERRY MARBLED BROWNIES

Brownies to Die For! has done it again. This is another winner from Bev Shaffer's book and I am tellin' ya she is making me a believer in the power of the brownie. This one works with one of my favorite combinations: chocolate and raspberry. Throw in cheesecake and you've got quite the pleaser. Make sure to add extra raspberry preserves to the recipe. I put in the given amount and it was too sparse. I doubled it and still felt there was room for more. These sure weren't pretty to photograph but they sure tasted delish.

Recipe adapted from Brownies to Die For!: The Complete Guide for Brownie Lovers by Bev Shaffer:

Brownie base:
1/4 cup unsalted butter
3 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped coarse
1 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped coarse
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

Cheesecake base:
8 oz. cream cheese, room temp.
3 tbsp. confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 tbsp. seedless raspberry preserves

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9" square pan (I only had an 8" so I just baked mine a little longer)

Prepare the brownie base: Melt the butter and chocolate in a medium saucepan over low heat. Stir until smooth and take off heat.

Whisk in the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Add the flour, baking powder and salt just until the ingredients are combined. Save 1 cup of the mixture and spread the rest out in an even layer in your greased pan.

Prepare the cheesecake base: Beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer in a medium bowl until creamy. Beat in sugar, egg, and vanilla on a medium speed until all ingredients are mixed well. Spread mixture gently over brownie base.

Now to finish the dish, drop tablespoonfuls of the brownie base you saved earlier on to the cheesecake layer. Then drop raspberry preserves in the spots where there is no brownie base. I choose to to rotate the two in rows. Just makes it easier and ensures each brownie has enough of both.

Swirl with a spatula or knife to create a marbled pattern on top. Bake for about 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs on it. Cool completely and then cut into bars. Makes about a dozen bars.