Pumpkin-Spice Cheesecake Brownies

After making the Pumpkin Yeast Bread, I had a bit of pumpkin leftover. Again, trying to stray away from traditional recipes (and also wanting to make a dent in the cream cheese stock pile in our fridge), I decided to go with pumpkin spice cheesecake brownies! I ran the idea by my bestest pal from work, Wendi, and she thought it was a great idea. I browsed the internet until I found the perfect recipe at Cara's Cravings. First, let me say this. I'm fairly confident when it comes to baking most things, but I'll admit I'm a little brownie challenged. I suck at brownies! Every time I've attempted brownies from scratch I've underbaked them, and they came out too fudgy and raw-tasting. Even when I make brownies from a mix it's hard for me to tell when they're done. I usually end up overbaking those because I'm afraid of a goopy chocolate mess. In the case of these pumpkin cheesecake brownies, it's possible that I may have underbaked them. At room temp they were very soft and mushy. That could be because of the cheesecake factor, but that factor also means they had to be refrigerated. They firmed up nicely in the fridge, and boy were they delicious! The tang of the cream cheese compliments the pumpkin nicely. And the subtle spice mixed with the chocolate brownie is perfect! The brownies were pretty rich, so we made about 12 servings out of an 8x8-inch square pan. I'll definitely be making these again soon! :) Thanks, Cara, for a great recipe!Pumpkin-Spice Cheesecake Brownies
Brownie Batter
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon

Cheesecake Batter
6 oz cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp flour
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp each ground ginger and ground cloves

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8x8" square metal baking pan.

Beat together melted butter, sugar, and vanilla, then beat in eggs one at a time. Combine dry ingredients and then gradually stir into butter mixture with a wooden spoon. In separate bowl, beat together cheesecake batter ingredients.

Spread about 2/3 of chocolate batter into prepared pan, and spoon cheesecake batter over. Dollop remaining brownie batter over cheesecake batter. Swirl the batters together by running a butter knife back and forth through the pan.

Bake for 40 minutes, or until center is set. Cool completely on wire rack and chill before cutting and serving. Keep refrigerated.