Brownies - My Happy Place

Confession - I am a binge eater. No, I don't have an eating disorder, but I most certainly have the desire to eat things in large quantities, especially brownies. My happy place in sitting in a corner with a pan of brownies, a brownie in each hand, and my mouth so full of brownies that my cheeks resemble a chipmunk. Yep, that's me, the brownie-binger. Consequently I don't usually make sweets unless we have people to share them with because I am incapable of not eating them all in one day. One of my all-time favorite finds is a mix called No Pudge Brownies. All you do is add non-fat vanilla yogurt, bake, and you have delicious fat free brownies. But if you want something a bit more decadent, but still semi-healthy-ish, this recipe is for you. I've adapted this from Cooking Light as it originally called for peppermint extract, but I prefer vanilla. Bryant has deemed these the best brownies of all times. Consider yourself warned.

Cheesecake Batter:
1 8 oz block 1/3 less fat cream cheese
1/3 c granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1 TBS flour

Brownie Batter
4.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 c, spoon it lightly into cup and then level with knife)
1/2 c unsweetened cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 c packed brown sugar
1/3 c canola oil
1/4 c buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
1 large egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place cream cheese in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add sugar and vanilla, beat well. Add 1 egg and 1 egg white; beat well. Add flour, beat until just blended and set aside.

Combine flour, cocoa, and salt in a medium bowl. Combine brown sugar, oil, buttermilk, vanilla, egg whites and egg in a large bowl and beat with a mixer at medium-high speed until well blended. Add flour mixture to brown sugar mixture and beat at low speed until just blended.

***I like using a round spring form pan. You can use a 9-inch square pan coated with cooking spray instead.***

Reserve 1/2 c brownie batter. Pour remaining batter into pan. Carefully pour cheesecake batter over top and spread evenly to edges. Dot cheesecake batter with reserved brownie batter. Swirl top two layers of batters together using the tip of a knife. IMPORTANT - WHEN SWIRLING THE CHEESECAKE AND BROWNIE BATTERS DON'T DISTURB THE BOTTOM BROWNIE LAYER. LITERALLY, JUST USE THE TIP OF YOUR KNIFE. Bake for 26 minutes (it usually takes me 35 minutes) or until the top is set. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Serves 16.

Since I've indicated this is fairly healthy I thought I'd include the nutritional breakdown:

Serving size: 1 brownie (Yes, just one.)
Calories: 213
Fat: 7.5 g