Ultimate Cream Cheese Brownies

These decadent and delicious Ultimate Cream Cheese Brownies are so easy to make and even better to devour!

We've got the best of both worlds bringing fudgy chocolate brownies and creamy cheesecake together, much like these Cherry Cheesecake Swirl Brownies, Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars and these Carrot Cake Cream Cheese Bars!

I love how easy these marbled cheesecake brownies come together with just 15 minutes worth of prep work to get that cream cheese layered brownie heaven!

Let the baking begin!

Ingredients You Need

Brownies

• unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons for easy melting
• semi-sweet chocolate chips 
• dutch cocoa powder
• granulated sugar
• brown sugar
• eggs 
• vanilla extract
• salt
• all-purpose flour
• optional:  chocolate chips

Cheesecake Swirl

• cream cheese, softened to room temperature so it's not lumpy
• sugar
• egg
• Optional: vanilla extract

How to Make Marbled Cheesecake Brownies

Brownies

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and spray an 8x8 baking pan with baking spray. For easy removal, line pan with tin foil or parchment paper.
2. Combine butter and chocolate chips in a large, microwave-safe bowl until melted by microwaving in 30 seconds increments. Stir well in between each increment until chocolate and butter are completely melted and well-combined.
3. Add cocoa powder and stir well.
4. Add sugars, stir until completely combined.
5. Add eggs and then egg yolk, one at a time, stirring well after each addition.
6. Add vanilla extract and stir to combine.
7. Add salt and flour and stir until completely combined.
8. Reserve ¼ cup of the batter and spread the rest of the batter evenly into prepared pan. Prepare your cream cheese topping.

Cheesecake Topping

1. Using a mixer, beat together the very softened cream cheese and sugar in a medium-sized bowl until well-combined.
2. Pour cream cheese batter over prepared brownie batter. Take your reserved ¼ cup brownie batter and drop/drizzle over cheesecake layer.
3. Use a knife to swirl brownie batter and cheesecake together.
4. Bake on 350°F for 25-30 minutes or until center is set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean with a few fudgy crumbs.
5. Allow cream cheese brownies to cool completely before cutting and serving.

Helpful Cheesecake Swirl Brownies Baking Tips

• Make sure the cream cheese is very softened to avoid lumps in your cheesecake mixture.
• Overmixing cream cheese mixture can lead to incorporating too much air into the batter. Once baked, the air bubbles will burst, and the cheesecake will fall and crack. This happens when the cream cheese is cold or not softened enough when incorporating the ingredients together, which could cause gaps in your cheesecake and brownies.
• To quickly soften cream cheese, remove from wrapper and place on microwaveable plate; microwave uncovered on High about 15-30 seconds or just until softened.
• Don’t over-bake your brownies. Your cheesecake brownies are done when the center is set and you see the cheesecake on the edges puff up a it just begin to crack. A skewer or toothpick won't work with checking the brownies, so once the center is set, pull them from the oven.
• Make sure you measure your flour correctly!  Adding too much will result in not so fudgy brownies.  Fluff your flour with a spoon, then sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off.
• Let brownies completely cool before cutting into slices.

Serving and Storing Cream Cheese Brownies

• Store brownies in the refrigerator to maximize the freshness of the cream cheese.
• Cream cheese brownies taste best when they are served slightly warm or at room temperature. Just, remove the brownies from the refrigerator at least 20 minutes before you plan to serve them.

If you like cheesecake, then these are the cheesecake swirl brownies are for you!  Time to make some easy cream cheese brownies!

More Desserts Ideas!

• The Perfect Cheesecake Experience
• Chocolate Cake Cheesecake Truffles
• Nutella Marbled Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Raspberry Vanilla Custard Pudding Pie
• Easy Fluffy Chocolate Marshmallow Peanut Clusters
• Triple Chocolate Pumpkin Pound Cake

Easy Cream Cheese Brownies

Kim Lange

These cream cheese brownies are the ultimate marbled brownies that will delight cheesecake & brownie lovers alike to a whole other level. YUM!

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Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 40 mins

Course Dessert

Servings 16 Servings

Calories

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

Brownies

• 1 cup unsalted butter cut into tablespoons for easy melting
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• ¾ cup dutch cocoa powder
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 large eggs + 1 egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• Optional: add ⅓ cup chocolate chips to brownie batter if you want

Cheesecake Swirl

• 8 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• Optional: ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

 

Brownies

• Preheat oven to 350°F and spray an 8x8 baking pan with baking spray. For easy removal, line pan with tin foil or parchment paper.
• Combine butter and chocolate chips in a large, microwave-safe bowl until melted by microwaving in 30 seconds increments. Stir well in between each increment until chocolate and butter are completely melted and well-combined.
• Add cocoa powder and stir well.
• Add sugars, stir until completely combined.
• Add eggs and then egg yolk, one at a time, stirring well after each addition.
• Add vanilla extract and stir to combine.
• Add salt and flour and stir until completely combined.
• Optional, fold in chocolate chips if desired.
• Reserve ¼ cup of the brownie batter and spread the rest of the batter evenly into prepared pan. Prepare your cream cheese topping.

Cheesecake Swirl

• Using a mixer, beat together the very softened cream cheese and sugar in a medium-sized bowl until well-combined.
• Pour cream cheese batter over prepared brownie batter. Take your reserved ¼ cup brownie batter and spoon over cheesecake layer.
• Use a knife to swirl brownie batter and cheesecake together.
• Bake on 350°F for 40-45 minutes or until center is set and you see the cheesecake on the edges puff up a it just begin to crack. A skewer or toothpick won't work with checking the brownies because of the cheesecake mixture, so once the center is set, pull them from the oven.
• Allow brownies to cool completely before cutting and serving.

Keyword brownies, cheesecake, cream cheese

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