Marbled Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

     It's been a while since I've dug into my trusty copy of Taste of Home Every Day Light Meals for something other than a bread recipe. This particular dessert was very rich, closing in on a touch heavy. Don't get me wrong, it was damned good. Just have a glass of milk or bourbon or something to help it on its way. The recipe called for egg whites, but I wasn't feeling that and just used whole eggs. It seemed to work out fine. As always, any changes or notes are in blue.

Marbled Chocolate Cheesecake Bars
via Taste of Home Everyday Light Meals

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup water
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1-1/2 squares (1-1/2 ounces) unsweetened chocolate (we used 2 ounces because I didn't feel like breaking the piece in half. I'm lazy like that)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1 egg white (I didn't really want a bunch of leftover yolks, I just omitted this)
• 1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream (we used Greek yogurt)

Cream cheese mixture:

• 1 package (8 ounces) reduced fat cream cheese (as always, we went with Neufchatel)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 egg white (didn't feel like separating eggs, we just used another entire egg)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup (6 ounces) miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. In a small saucepan, combine water, butter and chocolate. Cook and stir over low heat until melted; stir until smooth. Allow to cool.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda and salt. Add egg, egg white (if using) and sour cream. Beat on low speed until just combined (I used the Kitchenaid, any electric mixer will do. You can do it by hand if you're feeling particularly industrious). Stir in chocolate mixture until smooth.
3. In another mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, egg white (or just egg if you're hardcore like me) and vanilla; set aside.
4. Spread chocolate batter into a 15"x10"x1" baking pan coated with non-stick cooking spray. Drop the cream cheese mixture by tablespoonfuls (that doesn't sound right. Tablespoonsful? This is going to bother me) over batter. Cut through batter with a knife to swirl (Protip: read the recipe all the way through. I generally do not. Which is why I ended with a nice layer of cream cheese right across the top of the cake. It still tasted good, though). Sprinkle with chocolate chips.
5. Bake at 375F for 20-25 minutes (we went 25 minutes) or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Good times!