Cream Cheese Brownies

An old favorite brownie recipe of mine is the cream cheese brownie.  Most of the time I favor a straight up, no frills, fudgy, chocolate brownie, but occasionally I want a  kicked up version.  Mixing brownies and cream cheese is a winning combination in my book and is always a crowd pleaser.

Yummy Cream Cheese Browies

I also like that you can start with a box brownie mix and end up with a delicious dessert. If you don't want to use a box mix you can use your favorite from scratch brownie recipe.   Using a pre-packaged mix makes this a perfect addition to your dessert menu at the holidays because this recipe is relatively easy to bake when you have a lot of things going on in your kitchen all at once.  You'll appreciate that no kitchen appliances are required to make the brownie layer.  You can, and should, mix your brownie batter using a your favorite bowl and a wooden spoon.  This will ensure that your brownies are fudgy and dense, the perfect texture to support the cream cheese filling.

This recipe is for a double batch of brownies because when you make these because if you are like me, you'll want to have plenty.  They will freeze well if a double batch is too many brownies for you, or just cut the recipe in half and use a 9 x 9 inch pan for baking.

Cream Cheese Brownies
Makes 24 brownies

The Cream Cheese Brownie Ingredients

Brownie Layer

• 2 boxes of your favorite brownie mix
• Eggs, water, oil per the box directions

Cream Cheese Layer

• 2- 8 ounce packages of cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature

Directions
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F and line your 13 x 9 inch pan with parchment paper, overhanging the paper so the brownies can be lifted from the pan when cooled.  If you have some binder clips, go ahead and clip them to the sides of the pan to hold the parchment paper away from the batter.  You'll be happy you did!

Secure the Parchment Paper

Make the brownie layer by combining all the ingredients in a large bowl.  Mix the ingredients by hand, using a wooden spoon.  Mix until the ingredients are well combined, stirring about 50 times.  Pour all but 1 cup of the mixture into the prepared pan.  Set aside the extra brownie mix.


Beat the cream cheese using a hand mixture until it is smooth in texture. Make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature so that it will blend completely with the sugar and egg to make a smooth cheesecake texture. You can get the texture you want by hand, but go ahead and take out your electric hand mixer to make quick work of this step in the recipe. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat well.  Add the eggs and mix until well combined. 

Use a Mixer for the Cream Cheese Batter

Pour the cream cheese mixture over the brownie batter in the pan.  Spread evenly.  Spoon the extra brownie over the cream cheese mixture in six dollops.  Using a skewer or chopstick, draw through the batter back and forth four or five times the long way in the pan and then five or six times across the width of the pan to create a marbled effect. 

Marbleize the Brownies

Place the pan on the center rack of your oven and bake for about 50 minutes or until the brownies start to pull away from the pan and the edges begin to brown slightly.  Cool completely.  Refrigerate for at least a couple of hours before removing the brownies from the pan.  When ready to cut your brownies into serving portions, use the flaps of the parchment paper to lift the brownie from the pan onto a large cutting board.  Use a large, sharp knife to cut your brownies into 24 servings, wiping the edge of the knife with a damp cloth between cuts.

Dense, Fudgy and Topped with Cheese Cake

Get the printable Cream Cheese Brownie recipe by clicking the link.

Enjoy!