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Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies

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Move over, chocolate covered strawberries, there is a new dessert in town and it will steal your heart! 
 
I LOVE Valentines Day, and any chance to use heart shaped cookie cutters.  Who am I kidding?  I do NOT need an excuse to use any shaped cookie cutter, lol. 
 
This sweet dessert  takes a box mix of brownies to the next level by adding not one but TWO types of cheesecake toppings. Don’t worry, it’s easy to whip up , takes 45 mins. to bake and you can cut the brownies into squares if you want too.  I like adding that extra special touch  with the heart shapes though. 
 
As I mentioned, you can use your favorite boxed brownie mix for this. I used Hershey’s Double Chocolate brownie mix this time around. You can also go the extra mile and bake your brownies from scratch.  Either way is perfectly okay! 
 

Move over chocolate covered strawberries! This dessert will steal your heart!

 
Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies 
Yields 12-16 square brownies, depending on how you cut them, or about 6 heart shaped brownies, using a  two inch heart shaped cookie cutter. 
 
Preheat oven to 350, line an 8×8 inch baking pan with foil or parchment paper, and spray with cooking spray.  This will help you to lift the brownie out after it’s cool before cutting. 
 
For the cheesecake layer: 
 
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
0ne egg
1/2 teaspoon cocoa powder 
1/4 teaspoon red gel food color 
 
For the brownie layer : 
 
Use your favorite recipe or a box mix.  
 
Make the cheesecake layer: 
 
First, beat the cream cheese, sugar and egg in a medium bowl with a mixer on medium speed until smooth and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer 1/3 cup of the batter to a small bowl and stir in the cocoa powder and red food coloring until smooth.  Set aside the two batters.
 
Next, prepare the brownie batter according to box or recipe directions.    Spread the brownie batter in the prepared pan. Top with small spoonfuls of the plain cheesecake batter so most of the brownie is covered. Spoon the red cheesecake batter all over and gently swirl the cheesecake batters together with a skewer, butter knife or toothpick . 
 
Now you are ready to bake!   Follow your recipe or package directions until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (35-40 mins)   Allow to cool completely before cutting into desired shapes.  I have  baked these ahead of time (a day before) and refrigerated them before cutting.  This will make it a little easier to get the shapes to cut cleanly. 
 
 
These brownies pair well with a cup of rich hot cocoa, a dark roast coffee, or a glass of red wine.  
 
Enjoy!  Let me know if you try them out – fromginaskitchen@gmail.com 
 

Tip Tuesday in the Kitchen

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It’s “Tip Tuesday” here in the kitchen, and I’ve got a quick tip that saved me a few times during this quarantine. 

Yeast is a hot commodity in my area of Virginia these past few weeks. 

Are we ALL baking our own sandwich bread all of a sudden? I don’t know about you, but when I can’t find something (ingredient wise) that’s when I go to the “googles” for substitutes. 

I could write an entire blog post about ingredient substitutions, (and I just might ), but today I’ll leave it at this wonder called “DIY Self Rising Flour”

You probably have the ingredients on hand right now in your pantry. It’s three basic baking ingredients, that when combined, can be used instead of yeast in some recipes. You won’t get the same softness as with a yeast dough and it’s multiple risings… but your recipes will still be soft and have great texture to them. So if you can’t find yeast in these crazy Covid-19 times, run to your pantry to make this easy substitute!

DIY Self Rising Flour

1 cup of all-purpose flour

 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon fine salt.

There you have it, my first ingredient substitution blog post!  I hope to do more in the future. 

If you try it, tell me what you think.

Gina

 

 

 

 

“Sprouting Brownie Cupcakes”

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It’s May already foodie friends. MAY. Can you believe it?

I’m excited to move into a new month with new recipes to try. This is the May installment of “A Year of Brownies”, courtesy of Food Network Magazine.

This month was a fun take on a brownie, for several reasons.

First of all, you bake them like a cupcake. Next , you make a decadent chocolate ganache to top them off, and finish off with a layer of crushed Oreos!

The “sprouts” on top of the Oreo crumb “dirt” make the brownie look like a sprouting plant. So, I had to bring out piping bags and decorating tips. Not something I’m used to doing for a brownie, but, oh well… I have time now.

Lastly, I learned a little about a new-to-me baking product called “Black Cocoa Powder”. I got mine on Amazon, and it only took about 4 days to come in. I’m not complaining, either. I was happy to be able to get it all!

Back in October, I stumbled across a recipe for a cool Halloween themed cake. I couldn’t find this specialty cocoa powder in stores or get it delivered in time, so it was a no-go on the cake . I’m happy that I read the May recipe ahead of time, otherwise I would have been out of luck again!

Here’s a quick read all about the product on the TheKitchn.com. It’s meant to give your baked goods an almost “black” color, one that regular cocoa powder just can’t achieve on its own.

Here’s a picture of an unfrosted brownie. What do you think of the color?

Black cocoa is supposed to make your baked goods darker in color…. what do you think?

As for my take on this month’s brownie recipe, I LOVED it. Not a fan of the “sprouts” on top (I’d rather do flowers or leaves), but, hey, I tried!

Sharing is caring, and I shared these with neighbors (and my family) and they loved the recipe as well.

If you’d like to make your own, here’s the link !

These can certainly be made anytime of the year, with no decorations and just the Oreo crumbs. Or, I’d use a different decorating style. Or, maybe I should practice piping “sprouts” lol!

Enjoy! And let me know if you make these!

Next month, get out out your cast iron skillet for a skillet brownie with pecans!

Gina

New Toy in the Kitchen !

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It’s not what you think, foodie friends.

I’m not a big techie gal. Computers scare me. My iPhone scares me sometimes, lol . So this purchase was a bit nerve wracking for me.

My first Cricut !

So? What do you think I’ll be using this bad boy for? I’m thinking cupcake and cake toppers, goody bag tags , logo labels, cards and more!

Do you have a Cricut? What do you use yours for?

I want to know!

Drop me a message or email with ideas and suggestions. I could use all the help I can get with this toy. It’s not my comfort zone for sure.

Wish me luck !

Gina