Brownies can be made with cocoa powder or various types of baking chocolate, usually the unsweetened kind. Unsweetened chocolate is essentially chocolate in its purest form after cacao beans have been roasted and the cocoa butter and cacao solids have been separated from their pods. You wouldn’t want to eat it because of the bitterness level, but when you mix it with butter, sugar, eggs, and other flavorings, you can get very tasty brownies.

This recipe comes from the Baker’s Unsweetened Chocolate package, and like most recipes you can find on the back of a box or bag, it’s a reliable one. The one surprise is that there’s no vanilla in this recipe, so if I make it again I’ll likely add some. Texture-wise, these are fudgy and soft, not unlike a cheesecake filling all around.

Ingredients

For the brownies

• 4-ounce package Baker’s Unsweetened Chocolate, chopped
• 12 tablespoons butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup flour

For the peanut butter cheesecake swirl

• 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 x 13 baking tin with foil and spray with baking spray.

Melt baking chocolate and butter in the microwave or on the stovetop, stirring until smooth. Stir in sugar and eggs, then fold in flour Pour into prepared tin.

In a mixer, cream together cream cheese, peanut butter, and sugar; beat in egg until mixture is smooth. Pour over brownie layer and spread evenly, then swirl with a knife to create the marbled pattern.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Remove from oven and cool completely; lift out of the tin using the foil and cut into squares. Makes 24.