Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownies

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray silicone muffin cups with spray oil and set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of mixer, mix together the melted butter, sugar, and vanilla extract. Once combined, add the eggs one at a time, and mix just until combined.

Add the dry mixture to the wet and mix on low just until fully combined. Do not over mix.

Scoop the batter into 14 muffin cups, I use an ice cream scoop. Leaving about a cup of batter in the bowl.

In a small mixing bowl combine the softened cream cheese and peanut butter, mix well until there are no lumps. Add the egg and vanilla extract, mix well. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Drop large spoonfuls of the cheesecake mixture over each brownie cup.

Drop smaller spoonfuls of the remaining brownie batter over the top and swirl with a toothpick or knife to create a marbling effect.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the tops are slightly brown and starting to crack.

Wait until cool to remove from muffin cups to avoid breakage. Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

This recipe was adapted from two different recipes, first the brownie by Texanerin.com and second, the peanut butter cheesecake filling by Maebells.com.

Chocolate, peanut butter AND cheesecake! All wrapped up in a brownie cup! Whoa, these are so good, rich and fudgy. They came about when my Mother's Day goodies, that I ordered for myself a month in advance, were delayed in shipping. So I set out to bake myself the most decadent, chocolate dessert I could find. I think I really hit the nail on the head with this one. I am sure you could make these in a square baking pan, but I really like the texture the individual cups give, crunchy crust on the outside and gooey on the inside. The peanut butter cheesecake filling/topping is not crazy creamy, but still has that distinct cheesecake flavor. These were a little rich for the hubs, but I am a rich dessert fan so these are a 10/10 in my book. Do yourself a favor and DO NOT over bake these, you want to make sure you get that gooey middle!