Dark Chocolate and Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake Brownies
These fudgey pumpkin spice cheesecake brownies are the perfect blend of two classic desserts with a hint of delicious Fall flavor.
Equipment
- 1 hand mixer or stand mixer optional
- 1 8 or 9 in square baking dish
- parchment paper optional
Ingredients
Dark Chocolate Brownies
- 3/4 c dark cocoa (I use Hershey's Dark Cocoa. Can sub regular baking cocoa.)
- 1/2 c all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter very soft, room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 tbls vegetable oil
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 egg white room temperature (reserve the yolk for later)
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbls strong, fresh brewed coffee
Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 2/3 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tbls all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk reserved from earlier
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 °F.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the cocoa, flour, and salt until combined. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and brown sugar until light and creamy.
- Add in the vanilla, vegetable oil, eggs, egg white, and coffee and mix just until combined.
- Set aside for later.
- In a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream together the cream cheese and sugar on low speed until well combined.
- Add in the egg, egg yolk, pumpkin, flour, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla extract. Mix on low speed until combined and mixture is smooth.
- Grease an 8-9 in square baking dish and line it with parchment paper so that the parchment just hangs over the sides of the dish. *See note.
- Take about 1/2-3/4 of the brownie batter and pour it into the bottom of the dish. Spread evenly.
- Pour the cheesecake directly on top of the brownie mixture.
- Drop large spoonfuls of the remaining brownie batter on top of the cheesecake layer.
- Take a butter knife and drag it through the brownie/cheesecake batters in an up and down, then side to side motion to create a marbled pattern.
- Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes. *See note.
Notes
*The parchment paper is optional, but it does make removing and cutting the brownies easier later on. Spray the bottom and sides of your dish. Cut a length of parchment paper that just fits inside the dish but hangs over on opposite ends. Once the brownies are baked and cooled, simply grab the excess ends of parchment and use them to gently lift the brownies right out of the pan.
*Baking time may vary depending on your baking dish. I prefer to use an 8in aluminum pan. The aluminum pan heats more evenly and the baking time is about 30 minutes. Glass or ceramic dishes make take longer to bake through. Darker pans may not heat as evenly and may cause the edges to crust up and bake darker. Just use your best judgement depending on your dish. Brownies can be easy to over bake, so I like to start checking mine at 30 minutes and take them out once the center is no longer jiggly.