I went out with my friend Cara on Tuesday to look for bluebonnets so we could take those classic “in the bluebonnet” pictures with our dogs (ya, I know, we are cool), alas, we waited to late into April and only found dead bluebonnets. However, we were able to find one field of yellow and red wildflowers that turned out to be pretty awesome. I am posting a picture below of Lincoln that I took there, and there are more on Facebook. He is such a goof. Tomorrow I plan to go on a hike at McKinney Falls, so I will try to post about that later. School is winding down, and I am finding myself doing more non-school things than school things… I guess that is the senioritus in me. The end of the semester will be awesome though because I only have one final, which basically means I can spend all week doing whatever I want… so it is going down. I have to try to finish all the things on my Austin bucket list before I head off to California Land. Here are a few things that I plan to do in the coming weeks: Go to a jumpoline park (apparently this is supposed to be really fun), go to Hamilton Pool (which I’ve been to before, but I think it is awesome), go to Pedernales Falls State Park, eat lemon poppy seed pancakes at Kerbey Lane, and do some stand up paddle boarding.. and I am sure I will think of more things (I will try to make a list soon). I might like to go to Enchanted Rock again one last time because I love that place. I am envisioning a sad post in the future when I leave Austin for good. It doesn’t feel real right now.
Anyways, on to the triple threat: Cookie Dough Cheesecake Brownies. If you are re-reading that just to make sure you read right, don’t feel bad, I think I did a double take as well when I first ran across this recipe on the blog Bakers Royale. This is one of the newer blogs I have added to my list of blogs that I frequently look at, and if you just spend a few minutes looking around the site, you will see why. Everything looks extremely delicious. This is my first recipe to make from this blog, and it did not disappoint.
Here are the ingredients…
The first thing I did was crumble up my cookie dough.
Next I made my cheesecake part by blending together the cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla.
Next I made my brownie. First I melted my chocolate and butter in a double boiler until it was all melted.
Then I stirred in my sugar, vanilla, and salt.
Finally, I added in my eggs, one at a time, and stirred in my flour.
To assemble the whole thing I put about 3/4 of the brownie mix into a square pan. Next I put the cheesecake mixture on top. Then I sprinkled the cookie dough on top of the cheesecake. Lastly, I put the rest of the brownie mixture on top and then used a fork to swirl the layers together.
I baked this for about 35 minutes at 400 degrees F, and then enjoyed. The picture below is just showing my failure at trying to get the brownie bars out of the pan.
If you know what’s good for you, you will make this. Also, take pictures of your dogs in wildflowers… it is just funny.
Cookie Dough Cheesecake Brownie Bars
Thanks to Bakers Royale for this recipe!
Ingredients:
Cheesecake:
✔ 8oz. cream cheese, room temperature
✔ 1/3 cup sugar
✔ 1 egg
✔ 1 teaspoon vanilla
Brownie:
✔ 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
✔ 4oz. unsweetened chocolate
✔ 1 ¼ cups sugar
✔ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
✔ ¼ teaspoon salt
✔ 2 large eggs
✔ ½ cup all-purpose flour
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough:
✔ ½ of 1 package Nestle Toll House pre-made cookie dough
Directions:
Cookie dough preparation:
Crumble half of cookie dough mixture.
To make cheesecake:
Add all ingredients in a bowl and beat until blended. Set aside.
To make brownie:
Place butter and chocolate in a double boiler or a bowl over simmering water. Stir frequently until mixture is melted. Remove chocolate mixture from heat and stir in sugar, vanilla and salt. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring until each is incorporated before adding the next. Stir in flour and beat with a wooden spoon until mixture is glossy about 1 minute. Set aside.
Assembly:
- Pour 3/4 of brownie mixture into pan. Layer cheesecake mixture on top. Sprinkle crumbled cookie dough on top of cheesecake layer. Pour remaining brownie mixture on top. Use a skewer or a fork and drag it through the brownie and cheesecake mixture to create a swirled top.
- Bake for about 30-40 minutes at 400 degrees F. Brownie will will be fudgy and cheesecake layer will be creamy.
