These Cream Cheese Brownies are thick, fudgy, soft and absolutely decadent! The tanginess of the cream cheese beautifully cuts through the indulgent, rich chocolate, making these brownies dangerously addictive. You’ll need just 10 minutes of prep time to make them, and they’re perfect for all those holiday parties and get-togethers!
On days when I’m craving a little sweet treat or looking for something sweet and indulgent, I almost always turn to my classics like a slice of my chocolate mousse pie or a big scoop of my homemade Reese’s peanut butter cup ice cream.
This time, however, I was really craving brownies, but I also wanted to try something a bit different and go beyond the classic chocolate brownies. And that’s when I tried this recipe.
Why You’ll Love This Cream Cheese Brownies Recipe
- Great for hosting: They’re perfect for making for a little house-party or get-together you’re hosting - everyone is sure to love them.
- Double trouble: These brownies pack in the indulgence of a good chocolate brownie, teamed up with cheesecake flavors in every single bite.
- Easy to make: Making them is super easy, and yes, you can recreate the swirl pattern even if you’ve never done it before.
- Freezer-friendly: You can batch make and freeze these for months! Their texture and deliciousness will still be a winner!
Ingredients
- Cream cheese: Choose the best quality, full-fat softened cream cheese you can find. I love using Philadelphia brand.
- Sour cream: For that extra tang and deliciousness in the cream cheese mixture.
- Flour: Just your classic all purpose flour.
- Chocolate: I used unsweetened chocolate for this recipe. If you’re using semi-sweet chocolate, you’ll need to reduce the amount of sugar you’re adding.
- Butter: For added richness and moisture. You can use use salted or unsalted butter.
- Sugar: To sweeten the cream cheese and the brownie mixture.
- Eggs: For that rich, gooey texture that holds the entire dessert together.
- Vanilla: For that sweet aroma and flavor.
- Baking powder: A little, to help the brownies rise just a teeny bit.
See the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts, nutritional information, and detailed instructions.
Variations
- Mix-in experiments: Stir in other brownie batter mix-ins like peanut butter chips, butterscotch chips, and even some crushed Oreos if you want to.
- Nutty fun: Nuts like walnuts, pecans and macadamia nuts can be excellent additions to the brownies. They lend a bit of texture and taste incredible too!
How to Make Cream Cheese Brownies
To make the perfect brownies with cream cheese swirl, start by preheating your oven to 325 degrees F. Also prepare an 8x8 pan with cooking spray, line it with foil, and grease it again with cooking spray.
Step 1: Make the cream cheese mixture. Combine the cream cheese, sugar, sour cream and flour in a large bowl.
Step 2: Melt the butter and chocolate. Melt the butter on low heat in a medium-sized pot. Once it melts, add in the chocolate. Cook on low until the chocolate melts, stirring frequently.
Step 3: Prepare the brownie batter. In another bowl, combine the eggs, flour, vanilla, sugar and baking powder. Add in the chocolate and butter mixture and stir together.
Step 4: Layer time. Spread the brownie mixture in the prepared baking pan, reserving some of the batter for the top. Add the cream cheese mixture on top.
Step 5: Final topping. Top the cream cheese mixture with the reserved brownie batter as shown.
Step 6: Swirl and bake. Use a toothpick to gently make these swirly patterns with the brownie and the cheesecake mixtures. Pop this in the preheated oven and bake for 35-45 minutes.
⭐️ Hint: Lining the pan with foil makes clean up a breeze and the brownies super easy to remove from the pan so they're easier to cut and serve.
If you love brownie recipes like this one, you may also enjoy our easy chocolate fudge brownies or these refreshing lemon brownies.
Storing Tips
- Storing: Store your leftover easy cream cheese brownies at room temperature for up to 2 days in an airtight container. If you want them to last longer, you can refrigerate them and they should stay fresh for up to 5 days.
- Reheating: If you want to enjoy them a bit warm, pop them in the microwave for a few seconds to soften and warm.
- Freezing: These brownies are freezer-friendly too! You can freeze them for up to 3 months. When you're ready to enjoy them again, thaw them overnight and enjoy them the next day. Just use a freezer-safe container or bag to store them and to prevent freezer burn.
Serving Suggestions
Serve your brownies up with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a drizzle of chocolate syrup, or just plain old whipped cream. And of course, you can enjoy them as-is too. For extra decadence try a scoop of strawberry crunch ice cream or banana split ice cream.
I usually reserve these brownies for special occasions and get-togethers when I’m hosting and I want to impress with an assortment of snacks and appetizers! Favorites like these cheesy mushroom toasts, some BBQ chicken sliders, my Ritz cracker sandwiches, and some chips, crackers and a couple of dips like my cream cheese salsa dip or seafood dip.
Recipe Tips
- Clean cut hack: To get the perfect clean cuts, refrigerate the brownies to allow them to fully set, and then use a clean knife to make the slices. Run the knife under hot water and wipe between each cut.
- Measure right: Use the scoop and level method to measure out the flour and other ingredients. This is one of the secret to fudgy and gooey brownies.
- Don’t overbake: For the best soft and chewy texture make sure you don't overbake. To check for doneness, insert a toothpick in the center. When it comes out with just a few moist crumbs on the toothpick, they're done!
Video
More Amazing Brownie Recipes
Do you like brownies? Here are some recipes you may also like to try!
Ready to get cooking? Remember that you can print this recipe if you would like.
Cream Cheese Brownies
Ingredients
Cream Cheese Swirl
- 4 ounce cream cheese softened
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon flour
Brownies
- 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
- ½ cup butter or 1 stick
- ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ¼ cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- cooking spray
Instructions
Cream Cheese Filling
- In a medium bowl mash cream cheese with a fork. Add sour cream, sugar, and flour. Combine and set aside.
Brownies
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare an 8x8 pan with cooking spray.
- Take 2 pieces of tinfoil. Place one sheet firmly on the bottom and into the corners of the pan and up over the 2 edges of the pan. Using your other piece of tinfoil do the exact same thing in the other direction, covering the other 2 edges. Covering the edges will help you remove the baked brownies from the pan. Coat foil with cooking spray.
- In a medium sized pot melt butter on low. Once melted butter coats the bottom of the pot add chocolate band melt. Keep the temperature on low. Stir regularly and remove from heat once melted.
- In the meantime, in a large bowl mix flour, salt, baking powder, sugar, eggs, and vanilla together.
- Add melted chocolate mixture and whisk until totally incorporated. Spread batter in prepared pan, reserving about ⅔ of a cup.
- Spread cream cheese filling as evenly as possible over batter.
- Using a spatula scrape the bowl with the reserved batter and drop spoonfuls all over the cream cheese filling, 6 to 8 times.
- Using a knife, swirl batter through cream cheese filling, making a marbled pattern.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with only few moist crumbs attached, 35-45 minutes. Rotate pan halfway through baking.
- Let cool in pan on wire rack for at least an hour.
- Remove from pan and cut in squares when ready to serve. Keep refrigerated and enjoy!
Notes
- Clean cut hack: To get the perfect clean cuts, refrigerate the brownies to allow them to fully set, and then use a clean knife to make the slices. Run the knife under hot water and wipe between each cut.
- Measure right: Use the scoop and level method to measure out the flour and other ingredients. This is one of the secret to fudgy and gooey brownies.
- Don’t overbake: For the best soft and chewy texture make sure you don't overbake. To check for doneness, insert a toothpick in the center. When it comes out with just a few moist crumbs on the toothpick, they're done!
Nutrition
This post was originally published in May 2019. It's been updated with new content and images.
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