Cream Cheese Brownies
These brownies are made with a marbled layer of soft cream cheese and a gooey layer of brownie. They’re easy to make and incredibly delicious!
How do you make Cream Cheese Brownies?
- Start by pre-heating the oven to 320 F and lining the bottom and sides of a 13×9 baking pan with parchment paper
- Second, mix cream cheese, sugar and vanilla extract, until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat. Add flour and mix until just incorporated. Pour the mixture into a separate pan and set aside
- Next, for the brownie layer, mix the flour, cocoa powder and salt in a separate bowl and set aside
- Over the same mixing bowl where you did the cream cheese mixture -no need to clean it!- beat butter, sugar and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Mix in the dry ingredients until just incorporated, do not over beat!
- Save 3 Tablespoons of brownie mixture and pour the rest into the prepared baking pan. Add random dollops of cream cheese mixture on top, then swirl with a knife. Add the remaining chocolate brownie mixture wherever you have more cream cheese mixture for a prettier marble. Watch this video for a how-to tutorial on how to make the swirls.
- Bake for 40 minutes, then place a piece of foil a bit larger than the pan on top; no need to seal it completely. Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with a few crumbs, but not wet.
- Let cool completely, then cut into 24 pieces and enjoy!
What makes brownies Fudgy vs Cakey?
The main difference between fudgy vs cakey brownies is fat. The more fat, the fudgier they will be, and the more flour in relation to the fat, the more cakey they will be.
So if you’re looking for fudgier brownies, you can add up a bit more butter, oil or chocolate (or any fat you’re using), and if you’re looking for cakier brownies, either reduce the amount of fat or increase the amount of flour.
In this case, these Cream Cheese brownies are definitely on the fudgy side, but if you’re feeling adventurous and want to experiment a bit, you can tweak bit by bit the flour-fat ratios in the recipe to get a specific result.
Do I need to refrigerate Cream Cheese Brownies?
You can keep these brownies well covered and at room temperature for 2 days, after that refrigerate them in an air tight container for no more than 7 days. They’re amazing either way, at room temperature or cold!
Follow this link for more Brownies & Bars recipes, or click the links below to see some of my favorites.
Double Chocolate Marshmallow Bars
Chocolate Almond Shortbread Bars
Caramel Walnut Chocolate Chip Blondies
If you make this recipe, please be sure to give it a rating and leave a comment!
Cream Cheese Brownies
Ingredients
Cream Cheese layer
- 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 2/3 Cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1/2 Cup all-purpose flour
Brownie layer
- 1 1/4 Cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 Cup Cocoa powder
- pinch of salt
- 3/4 Cup + 2 Tablespoons 14 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 Cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 eggs room temperature
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 320 F and line the bottom and sides of a 13×9 baking pan with parchment paper
- Mix cream cheese, sugar and vanilla extract, until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat. Add flour and mix until just incorporated. Pour the mixture into a separate pan and set aside
- For the brownie layer, mix the flour, cocoa powder and salt in a separate bowl and set aside
- Over the same mixing bowl where you did the cream cheese mixture -no need to clean it!- beat butter, sugar and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Mix in the dry ingredients until just incorporated, do not over beat!
- Save 3 Tablespoons of brownie mixture and pour the rest into the prepared baking pan. Add random dollops of cream cheese mixture on top, then swirl with a knife. Add the remaining chocolate brownie mixture wherever you have more cream cheese mixture for a prettier marble.
- Bake for 40 minutes, then place a piece of foil a bit larger than the pan on top; no need to seal it completely. Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with a few crumbs, but not wet.
- Let cool completely, then cut into 24 pieces and enjoy!
