Chevre Brownies

Brownies are the perfect picnic food.  I wanted chocolate, I wanted a brownie, but I wanted something a little different.  I thought a cream cheese brownie would be great but didn't have cream cheese.  However, what I did have was some goat cheese.  I thought, what the heck...I am going to experiment.

I used the brownie base for David Lebovitz's ( Ready for Dessert ) cheesecake brownies, but swapped the cream cheese for goat cheese and added a touch more sugar ( to compensate for the tartness in the goat cheese).  I also omitted the chocolate chips from the actual brownie base and instead took a skinny bar of Valrhona and did a rough chop.  After swirling in the cheese mixture, I dotted the top of the brownies with the chocolate chunks. This ended up being a delicious experiment!

Chevre Brownies
adapted from David Lebovitz
yield 16 brownies

ingredients:

brownies
6 Tbls. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs, room temp
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbls. unsweetened cocoa powder ( I use Valrhona )
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped bittersweet chocolate chunks

goat-cheesecake topping
8 oz. mild goat cheese, room temp
1 large egg yolk
6 Tbls. sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

instructions:
• preheat oven to 350*.  spray the inside of a 9" square baking pan w/cooking spray and line with parchment, leaving some overhang.  lightly spray the parchment.
• for the brownies, in a medium saucepan melt the butter, then add the 4 oz. of bittersweet chocolate, melt over low heat until smooth.  remove from heat and stir in the 2/3 cup of sugar, followed by the eggs.  add the rest of the ingredients, minus the chocolate chunks.  using a small off set spatula, spread evenly in the prepared pan.
• for the cheesecake, in a medium bowl, beat all the ingredients until smooth and incorporated. distribute the cheesecake mixture in dollops over top of brownie batter.  with a butter knife, swirl the cheese mixture into the brownie.  don't mix and swirl as you will end up with a muddy mess.  you want it to look streaky.   dot the tops of the brownies with the chopped bittersweet chocolate, distributing evenly.
• bake until brownies are set in the center, about 35 minutes.  let cool completely in the pan before removing.
• I stored these in the fridge.