Marbled Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

Pretty much my daughter loves to bake. Of course this is a good thing and a bad thing. Ever since she started baking I've gained a few extra pounds that just won't seem to go away. On the other hand with the marvelous things that she bakes it's hard to complain too much. This is another recipe she found in the Taste of Home Baking Book we have checked out from the library. Now that she's tried a few of the recipes from there, I don't know if she'll ever be able to let it go. It may end up being her birthday present (which of course is really a present to me too.) This recipe makes a light cake-y brownie with the yummy moist cream cheese swirled in.

The ingredients:
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1-1/2 squares (1-1/2 oz.) unsweetened chocolate
2 cups all purpose flour
1-1/2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream

CREAM CHEESE MIXTURE:
1 package (8-oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 Tbs. vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a small saucepan, combine the water, butter, and chocolate; cook and stir over low heat until smooth. Cool.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Add eggs and sour cream; beat on low just until combined. Stir in chocolate mixture until smooth.

In another bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla; set aside. Spread chocolate batter into a greased 15x10x1 inch baking pan. Drop cream cheese mixture by tablespoonfuls over batter; cut through the batter with a knife to swirl. Sprinkle with chocolate chips.

Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into 24 bars.

Enjoy!