Cream Cheese Brownies

I don’t bake a lot, but I’ve really been in a baking kind of mood lately. Maybe it’s that amazing French bread I made last week. It came out so nice that I wanted to bake something else, but what? I have pinned plenty of recipes over the years, so I grabbed some tea and started scrolling through my dessert recipe board. It took a while, but I finally found today’s recipe: Cream Cheese Brownies. How yummy do they sound? I’ve made brownies swirled with blackberry but never cream cheese swirls. Let’s find out if this recipe is as easy as the author claims.

These Cream Cheese Brownies come together so easily! Made with a one-bowl brownie batter and then marbled with a cream cheese mixture, you’re likely to be won over by these cheesecake brownies for a regular brownie!

Recipe Author: Alyona at Alyona’s Cooking
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The Ingredients

The nice thing about brownies from scratch is they only have a few ingredients. Did I mention they’re all kitchen staples? Well, they are, so finding anything you don’t have should be super easy.

That’s what happened to me. I usually have everything but the cream cheese on hand, but not this time. I was running out of flour, butter, and sugar, but every grocery store ever has those. Everything else was in my pantry and refrigerator.

Cream Cheese Brownies Ingredients
Cocoa powder, sugar, salt, egg, cream cheese, butter. vanilla extract, and flour

The Process

I want to tell you that this recipe was a delicious Pinterest success, but that’s only half true. Delicious, yes, but not exactly a Pinterest success the first time I made them. Here’s what happened.

My First Try

I started by setting the cream cheese and butter on the counter when I made breakfast. They both need to be softened, and they were by midday when I was ready to bake.

The instructions were easy to follow, and things went smoothly. I made the brownie batter, cleaned my stand mixer’s bowl, and made the cream cheese swirl. After working it into the brownie batter, it was into a preheated oven for 25 minutes.

The Cream Cheese Brownies after baking for 25 minutes
The Cream Cheese Brownies after baking for 25 minutes

The center was a little jiggly when I removed the oven, and I let the pan sit for a good hour before covering it. I wanted to make extra sure the brownies were set, so I left them on the counter overnight.

The next day, I cut them up and removed an edge piece, shown below. It wasn’t even close to set! I didn’t want to waste the tray, so I heated the oven up and baked them until the center was set. Here’s how my time was spent:

  • 17 minutes to prep
  • 25 minutes to bake
  • 35 minutes to bake (checked at 15-, 10-, and 10-minute intervals)
  • 1 hour 17 minutes total (not including cooling overnight)

I had to stop once I noticed the cream cheese was turning golden—no one likes burned cream cheese. This time, the edges were pretty done, and the center had a soft, fudgy texture.

An edge piece cut after sitting in the pan overnight
An edge piece cut after sitting in the pan overnight

Cream Cheese Brownies: Take-Two

It always bothers me when a recipe doesn’t work out. Was it me? Was it the recipe? A little of both? These Cream Cheese Brownies mostly worked out with a little extra help, but I felt like I needed to give them another try.

This time I planned to make sure the center was set before removing them from the oven. I also decided to use a metal baking pan instead of ceramic. They were both supposed to be 9″x13″ pans, but the metal pan seemed bigger. I also increased the baking time to 35 minutes and let the cooled pan chill overnight in the refrigerator instead of on the kitchen counter.

I’m pleased to say that this batch came out perfectly! The photo below shows an edge piece (top) and a middle piece (bottom). You can see the edges were a little crispy, but the brownies were chewy and fudgy in the middle. The tops also didn’t brown like the first batch, so the cream cheese was softer. I liked it both ways, and neither batch lasted very long.

My second try at this recipe yielded perfectly fudgy brownies
My second try at this recipe yielded perfectly fudgy brownies

So how was it?

Clear & Accurate Directions
Accurate Time(s)
Appearance
Taste
These Cream Cheese Brownies are amazingly good! Think rich, chewy brownies topped with cheesecake-like swirls. With only a few basic ingredients and easy-to-follow instructions, I expected only to have good things to say. Unfortunately, my first attempt resulted in extremely undercooked brownies. I was able to remedy the problem with some extra time in the oven, but I had to give them another shot. This time I got some of the best brownies I've ever had! Chewy in the middle, just a little crispy on the edges, and that sweet cream cheese topping was the bomb!
The Hungry Pinner
The Hungry Pinnerhttps://www.hungrypinner.com
I'm Candice, and I'm The Hungry Pinner. I created this blog to share my love for cooking and my experiences with the MANY recipes I've found on Pinterest over the years. Join me as I blog my way through those recipes to find out if they are worth trying yourself.

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These Cream Cheese Brownies are amazingly good! Think rich, chewy brownies topped with cheesecake-like swirls. With only a few basic ingredients and easy-to-follow instructions, I expected only to have good things to say. Unfortunately, my first attempt resulted in extremely undercooked brownies. I was able to remedy the problem with some extra time in the oven, but I had to give them another shot. This time I got some of the best brownies I've ever had! Chewy in the middle, just a little crispy on the edges, and that sweet cream cheese topping was the bomb!Cream Cheese Brownies