Cheesecake Brownie Bites

No fancy French name here, as the French neither have a. cheesecake as we know it, or b. brownies, but I guess you could say "Les petits gateaux a fromage avec un croute de chocolate et enrobe de ganache" but that just sounds ridiculous. Anyway, I (Nameless Faceless) usually make my mini-cheesecakes with a regular graham cracker crust and some kind of fruit topping (mostly because my father likes them that way and he pays the bills), but yesterday I made this batch for a friend of mine who loves these. They are half cheesecake, half brownie, topped these with a chocolate ganache and baked in a mini-cheesecake pan, but we are going to cheat and use a regular muffin tin and hot fudge. It's the same thing, but your finished product will have fluted edges in lieu of the smooth sided picture above -- essentially, it doesn't matter: let's get this show on the road.

1 package brownie mix
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened (I cannot stress this enough. I've killed two electric mixers trying to be a hero.)
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Jar of hot fudge topping

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line muffin tins with paper liners or grease them individually
2. Prepare the brownie mix according to the directions on the package and fill each muffin cup about 1/3 of the way full.
   
3. Bake the brownie portion for about 15 minutes. If the brownie top is shiny and looks to be set, remove the pan from the oven. If not, stick it in until it does - and *then* take it out. Either way, let these brownies cool for at least twenty minutes.
   
4. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy. Spoon this mixture on top of your brownies (while still in the pan!). Fill each muffin cup with this mixture, almost to the top.
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Cool completely. Top with warmed hot fudge - you can make it look fancy or not, it's irrelevant. Cool and serve. Oh, and
   
6. Freaking delicious.