Chocolate and cheesecake and brownies...OH MY!

Okay...like every women...I love chocolate and cheesecake and I like it even better when they are together. As much as I love making these from scratch, sometime I take a short cut and use brownie mix in a box. And besides, I think these are so pretty!

Cheesecake Brownies

1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar, divided

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup butter

2 eggs

2/3 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 inch square baking pan. Combine cream cheese with 1 cup sugar and vanilla in a mixing bowl; beat until smooth. Set aside. Fill a saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Turn the heat off and set a heatproof mixing bowl over the water. In the mixing bowl, combine butter with the remaining cup of chocolate chips; stir until just melted and blended together. Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and 2 eggs, then sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into chocolate until evenly blended. Pour half of the batter into the prepared baking pan. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the chocolate layer. Top with remaining chocolate mixture (this doesn't need to completely cover the cream cheese layer). Using a knife, swirl the top chocolate layer into the cream cheese to make a marble pattern. Bake in oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until top is crinkled and edges pull away from sides of the pan. Cool thoroughly. Cut into 12 to 16 squares.