Chocolate Chip Cheesecake-Swirled Brownie Bites

For the brownies:
Preheat your oven to 350 F. Recipe makes roughly 32 mini brownies. Spray your mini-muffin tins with cooking spray and set aside.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the granulated sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Add the warm melted butter to the dry ingredients. Then add the vanilla extract, and mix until well combined. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. (I know this is tiring, but you can do it!) When the batter looks thick and shiny, add the flour and mix until it’s well incorporated. Fold the chocolate chips into the brownie batter and briefly set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients for the cheesecake swirl.

Spoon about a tablespoon of brownie batter into the wells of the prepared mini-muffin tin(s). Add a dollop (about ½ tablespoon) of the cheesecake swirl batter to each well. Use a knife to swirl the cheesecake into the brownie batter.

Transfer your pans of brownie bites to the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until the top is set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. I baked these at a very high altitude and they took about 20 minutes, but I recommend checking yours after 15 for safety’s sake. When done remove pans from oven.

Allow your brownie bites to cool completely before removing them from the muffin tins. I’m impatient, so I just popped mine in the freezer for ten minutes and called it a day.

Base brownie recipe adapted from Inspired Taste.