Two Heavenly Chocolatey Holiday Sweet Treats.

Today we celebrate decadent brownies and a minty Christmas fudge. This post is a chocolate lover's dream come true, IMHO.

Swirls of rich, creamy cheesecake stuffed in thick, fudge brownies. This might be one of the greatest dessert fusions of all time. Who doesn't love a good chocolate brownie? And very few people in the world hate on cheesecake. Combining them together just makes perfect sense!

Fudge is a winter staple. It's a way of welcoming the holidays into our homes with sweet bites of chocolate heaven. Fudge, however, can sometimes be tricky to get just right. The key to getting that soft, silky texture is adding a little butter and melting the chocolate very slowly. By following this recipe exactly, you can create that divine peppermint chocolate fudge you've been craving since the Winter peaked its head around the corner. 

This recipe takes the classic cheesecake brownies to a whole new level. Rather than layering the cheesecake on top of the brownie, we marbled the cheesecake inside the brownie, creating a fudgier texture and a richer flavor.

Cheesecake Chocolate Brownies

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Prep Time: 25 Minutes  |  Cook Time: 30 Minutes  |  Servings: 9-12

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 brick (8 ounces) cream cheese, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 egg
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9" square baking dish, set aside, or you can use a 9" square metal cake pan.

2. Cream together the cream cheese, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, and 1 egg in a large bowl.

3. Beat in 1 cup of the chocolate chips.

4. Bring some water to a boil in a saucepan. Turn off the heat and place a heatproof (preferably glass) mixing bowl over the water. In the mixing bowl, combine the butter with 1 cup chocolate chips, and stir until it's a creamy blend.

5. Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 2 eggs. Remove bowl from saucepan and sift in flour, baking powder, and salt into chocolate mixture until well-combined.

6. Pour half the brownie batter into the baking pan. Lay the cream cheese blend over the chocolate layer. Pour the remaining brownie batter on top.

7. Using a butter knife and making swirling motion, swirl the top brownie batter layer into the cream cheese layer to marble.

8. Bake for 25-30 minutes. The top should be crinkled, and edges should slightly pull away from the pan.

9. Allow the brownies to cool completely. *Cut into 9 squares for large brownies, or 12 squares for smaller brownies.

*Cutting Tip: Use a thin knife and run under hot water for a few seconds and then wipe dry. Do this between every cut you make.

Silky dark chocolate sprinkled with crushed peppermint sticks - is there a better way to say hello to winter?

Silky Peppermint Chocolate Fudge

Download the Recipe/Print
Prep Time: 3 minutes  |  Cook Time: 10 minutes  |  Servings: 64 squares

INGREDIENTS:
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons butter
1 pound dark chocolate chips
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup crushed candy cane

DIRECTIONS:

1. Coat an 8" x 8" baking dish with 1 tablespoon of butter.

2. Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat and fill with 2 inches of water. Put a glass bowl over the top of the saucepan. Don't let the glass touch the water. You can also use a double boiler, taking care not to let the water touch the bottom of the double boiler insert.

3. Pour the sweetened condensed milk and the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter into the bowl and heat.

4. Stir in the salt and chocolate chips in the milk and butter mixture. Continue to stir as the chocolate melts and thickens. This should take about 5 minutes. The mixture should be VERY thick, and almost too thick to pour.

5. Stir in the peppermint and vanilla extracts.

6. Scrape the mixture into the greased baking dish. Grabbing the sides of the baking dish, tap the entire dish to the counter for about a minute to get rid of any air bubbles in the mixture. This will also smooth the surface of the mixture.

7. Sprinkle the crushed peppermint over top. Allow the fudge to chill in the refrigerator for 3-8 hours.

8. When fudge is set, dip a thin slicing knife in hot water, wipe, and cut quickly. Repeat the dipping and wiping process for each cut. The fudge squares should be small - about 1 inch each.

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