Festive fun and baking holiday treats go hand-in-hand, and these Christmas Tree Cheesecake Brownies provide a perfect way to enjoy a holiday tradition in the kitchen with loved ones.
Decorate your own version using green and white frosting, sprinkles of your choice and candy canes for “stumps” in the tree-shaped sweets.
Christmas Tree Cheesecake Brownies
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Servings: 16
Ingredients:
Nonstick cooking spray
Cheesecake Batter:
8 ounces low-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Brownie Batter:
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup cocoa powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup milk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Decorations:
green frosting
white frosting
assorted sprinkles
star-shaped sprinkles
candy canes
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Coat 8-inch square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
To make cheesecake batter: Place cream cheese in bowl of stand mixer. Beat at medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add sugar and beat well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour and beat mixture until blended.
To make brownie batter: In medium bowl, whisk flour, cocoa powder and salt until combined. In separate bowl, whisk sugar, oil, milk, eggs and vanilla until well combined. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until blended.
Pour brownie batter evenly into prepared pan.
Carefully pour cheesecake batter over top, spreading evenly. Carefully swirl layers together using knife tip.
Bake 30 minutes until brownies are set.
Cool brownies completely in pan on wire rack before cutting into triangle pieces.
Decorate trees by piping green and white frosting. Top with assorted sprinkles and star-shaped sprinkles. Place 3-inch candy cane pieces in bottoms of brownies for stumps. (Family Features)
