Valentine’s Day Treats

By Erin

I was in Target the other day and saw these little goodies:

 

I spend alot of time at Target these days. Like hours and hours.  It’s magical when its cold outside and you’re going stir crazy in the house and you have a baby.  It’s filled with never ending aisles of everything you could possibly need. Like that bag of Hugs. Which got me thinking about this box of deliciousness:

And this little package of hevean:

And these frozen berries that were in my freezer:

I started thinking that those three things would be just like those Hugs…. only so much better. Because if you’ve ever had Ghirardelli brownies, you know nothing is better than those. Even homemade brownies can’t come close.

So I set out to make a delicious – but easy  – Raspberry Cheesecake Brownie.  And I did! They are easy, delicious, and perfect for a Valentine’s Day treat. I made two versions, depending on your Cheesecake flavor preference:

These two (above and below) have Hugs on top. Lesson learned about the hugs – don’t put them in the oven, put them on when you take the cupcakes out. Or they’ll brown on the top like below!

So here’s what you’ll need and what to do! My recipe made 16 Brownie Cheesecakes.

• 1 Box Brownie mix – and the things to make the brownie mix according to directions. We know my favorite – Ghirardelli. But any will do!
• 1 package Philly cream cheese (softened)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 tablespoon vanilla extract
• Handful of frozen (or fresh if they’re in season) raspberries

Preheat the oven to 325.

Make the brownie mix according to the box. Mix by hand and let it sit while you make everything else. This will help it thicken up so it sits nicely on the bottom of the cupcake!

Take your frozen or fresh raspberries and blend them in the blender.  If they’re frozen, let them defrost for a few minutes. This many will do:

I just love how pretty raspberries are.

Set them aside to continue to get soft. (That’s the cream cheese getting soft behind them!)

Next mix the cheesecake layer.  With a hand mixer, blend the package of cream cheese (let it soften first), sugar, vanilla and and egg. It should nice and smooth when done.

I use this vanilla because its amazing.

Now its time to layer! I found these pretty red paper cupcake wrappers in my cupboard and decided to use them.

Place these in a cupcake or muffin pan. Fill them just less than half with brownie mix.

There are two ways to do the cream cheese. For Raspberry Swirl brownie cheesecake:

Then add a dollop of the cream cheese mixture on top. Spread it around with the back of a spoon.

Then dip a knife or toothpick in the raspberries so you get just a touch of them on the end and swirl into the top of the cheesecake mixture.

OR – if you want make Raspberry Cheesecake Brownies: 

Mix a large spoonful of raspberries into the cheesecake mixture.

Then apply a dollop of this mixture on top of the brownie mix. Spread with a spoon.

Place them in the oven on 325. Set the timer for 45 minutes and see if they’re done. The spoon should come out clean, possibly a LITTLE gooey on the brownie part if you like very gooey brownies.  If you want, top with a hug immediately after taking them out of the oven. Store in the fridge and enjoy!

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