Red Velvet Cheesecake Bars

These red velvet cheesecake bars are great any time of year, but are especially festive at Christmastime or Valentine's Day.  They're easy to make, too – and don't cost a lot.

Red Velvet Cheesecake Bars

Red Velvet Brownie Layer:
1/2 C. butter, melted
1 C. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 C. cocoa powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. red food coloring
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
2 eggs
3/4 C. all-purpose flour

cream cheese Topping:
1 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/4 C. sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray an 8×8 pan with nonstick cooking spray.  Combine butter , sugar, vanilla, cocoa powder, salt, food coloring, and vinegar in large mixing bowl.  Add eggs.  Next, add flour little by little until well-incorporated into brownie layer mixture. Pour the batter into the pan, reserving about 1/4 cup of the batter for the cream cheese topping layer.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, blend together cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla. Spread the cream cheese layer on top of the brownie layer.  Drop teaspoons of the remaining brownie batter on top of the cream cheese.  With a knife, drag zig-zag lines in the batter to create swirls.  Bake for 30 minutes. Cool completely before cutting, and refrigerate remaining bars.