Peanut Butter “Cheesecake” Swirl Brownies

If you said you were going to give up all sweets…

don’t throw stones.

But! Just know, that you will have way more success if you reduce your sweets and not eliminate them all together. Just sayin.

I had a fabulous break and cried all the way home because I just hate going back to reality…

Yes, I cried. Stop laughing at me.

Anyways, I made these fabulous brownies to ring in the New Year and knew you’d want them too! I made them healthier by incorporating Greek yogurt into the swirl and by making the brownie base reduced fat! How good of me.

Then…I crumbled mine over ice cream…oh well, I tried!

By the way, feel free to use your favorite basic brownie recipe for the base, or use any kind of boxed brownie (I love the Trader Joe’s Gluten-Free Brownie Mix and my parents happened to have a Hershey’s and Betty Crocker mix, so use whatever you have on hand!).

AND the peanut butter cream cheese swirl makes quite a lot. You can either spread it in a thin layer across the brownies, drop mounds of it and swirl it in, swirl just what you want and eat the rest plain (no judgement), or put it in a Ziplock bag, cut off the corner, drizzle the batter with it and swirl it (this is what I did). Whatever you choose, it all tastes great!

Peanut Butter “Cheesecake” Swirl Brownies

(makes one 8×8″ or 9×9″ pan, 16 brownies)

1 box of your favorite basic brownie mix*

1/4 cup water*

1 egg*

3 Tbs. unsweetened applesauce*

1 Tbs. coconut oil, melted (or baking oil of your choice)*

2 ounces reduced fat cream cheese, room temperature

3 Tbs. nonfat plain Greek yogurt (I use Chobani)

1 Tbs. granulated Stevia (or sweetener of your choice)

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 cup creamy, natural peanut butter

*If you plan to use your favorite homemade brownie recipe instead, omit these ingredients in place of your batter.

~Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and spray your baking dish with nonstick spray (or line with parchment then spray).

~In a mixing bowl, prepare your brownie batter by mixing the bag of mix, water, egg, applesauce, and coconut oil. Stir until just incorporated. Pour the batter into the bottom of the baking dish.

~In a separate bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients, mix thoroughly with a fork or whisk until creamy. Drizzle or drop the peanut butter “cheesecake” mixture on the brownie batter and swirl with a knife. Refer to my notes above the recipe for a few method options!

~Bake for 40-43 minutes, until baked, but don’t over-bake. Let cool for at least 30 minutes on a wire rack before cutting and serving. Enjoy!