TWD: Cheesecake Brownies

It occurred to me while I stood in my kitchen tasting these brownies... that i am a simple, boring girl. Well, at least culinarily speaking. (If you had been out with me on Saturday afternoon/night I think boring probably would have been the last word on your mind. But that's a whole other story for another blog... the drunken amy shenanigans blog*). I mean. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE cheesecake. But, my favorite cheesecake? Regular. Plain. Unadorned. I also love brownies. But, the only time I get wild and crazy with them is when I throw some nuts in the batter. Yum. So, if I love both parts of something... it only makes sense that I'd love them put together. Right?

Well, I didn't. At all. And here's the thing, folks... In my opinion, a really good cheesecake doesn't need a brownie base to make it better. And a really good brownie doesn't need a cheesecake topper to make it better. And the two together sure as hell don't need some weird sour cream icing on top.

This recipe was not my favorite. The brownie? Blech. Dry. Overcooked. Boring. The cheesecake? Flavorless (I skipped the Espresso and used Bailey's Liquor) and overshadowed by the huge amount of sour cream icing. And for me, the sour cream icing just threw the whole thing off. Mine was goopy and so sour cream-y. Like... almost buttermilk flavored. The flavors and textures just didn't do it for me.

Next time I'm craving cheesecake and brownies... I'll eat a slice of really good cheesecake, like this one... and a really good brownie... like this.

Dorie and I don't seem to have similar palates when it comes to chocolate goods. Her fruit recipes, however? I die for. Like...

Russian Grandmother's Apple Pie Cake
Summer Fruit Galette
French Pear Tart
Fresh Mango Bread
Florida Pie

Sorry... I got off on a little tangent there, didn't I? Oh well. Live and learn. If you like decadence and like to have cheesecake with your brownie, then give this recipe a try. Plenty of people were raving about them over at Tuesdays with Dorie. They just weren't my cup of tea. But, I'm boring. Remember?

Espresso Cheesecake Brownies-- click the title for recipe from Melissa of Life in a Peanut Shell.
by Dorie Greenspan

I found these brownies really easy to make. I did skip the espresso and added an equal amount of baileys to the cheesecake batter, but I couldn't taste it (probably because all I could taste was sour cream from the topping).



* I don't have a drunken amy shenanigans blog. yet.