Cream Cheese Brownies

Cream cheese brownies are a fun two-for-one dessert: On the bottom is a simplified version of homemade brownies, and on top is a tangy, rich cheesecake filling that's swirled into the brownie batter before baking. The end result is a fudgy treat that is great for potluck or picnics where a messy frosting could get in the way.

Learn how to make cream cheese brownies, and discover your new favorite way to make these chocolaty treats.

Why You'll Love Cream Cheese Brownies

Cream cheese brownies come together quickly—it's really one extra step after making brownies—and appear much more complicated than they really are. That makes them highly impressive for a potluck, school bake sale, or neighborhood picnic.

They also don't have a sticky frosting, which can make travel harder if you need to transport your dessert to a dinner or party. And if that wasn't enough, they freeze beautifully. Wrap the cooled and cut brownies in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil. Be sure to label them so you know what they are. Then, thaw and use them within two months.

How To Make Cream Cheese Brownies

There are four stages of making cream cheese brownies. The full recipe is outlined below, but here's a brief recap.

• Make the brownies: You'll start by making a simplified homemade brownies recipe. Melt butter and chocolate together, then add the sugars so they dissolve before adding the flour, eggs, vanilla, cocoa powder, and salt. That batter is added to a 9x13 pan.
• Make the cream cheese topping: With an electric mixer, combine cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, egg, and salt. You'll want this to be really well mixed, and that starts with a softened block of cream cheese.
• Assemble: The brownie batter is in the pan, so it's time to dollop the cream cheese mixture on top of the brownie. It's better to do drops of cream cheese mixture so you can get a nice swirl. Use a knife or long skewer to do figure eights of S-shaped swirls through the cream cheese. Less is more—don't overmix or the beautiful swirls will get lost.
• Bake: These brownies need 45 minutes to bake. You'll want to make sure you let the brownies cool completely before cutting them. If they're too warm, they'll tear during cutting and won't look too much like the beautiful squares of fudgy brownies you want.

Tips for the Best Cream Cheese Brownies

Before you get started, these Test Kitchen tips will help make sure your batch of brownies is the best possible:

• Soften the cream cheese: To make mixing the cream cheese topping easier, let the block of cream cheese soften to cool room temperature.
• Use a mixer: While you could mix the cream cheese topping by hand, we recommend a hand or stand mixer so that it's smooth and creamy.
• Line the pan: If you want to remove the brownies from the pan after they're cooled for easier cutting, you can line the pan with parchment paper (then cooking spray). Once the brownies are cooled, use the extra parchment to lift the brownies out onto a cutting board.