Description
Indulgent butter cream cheese brownies blend rich chocolate with tangy cream cheese for a luxurious dessert. Creamy swirls and fudgy textures create an irresistible treat you’ll crave again and again.
Ingredients
Scale
- 8 oz (226 g) block cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, melted and hot
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar (for brownie batter)
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar (for cream cheese mixture)
- 2 large eggs (for brownie batter)
- 1 large egg white
- ⅔ cup (60 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¾ cup plus 1 tbsp (110 g) all-purpose flour (for brownie batter)
- 1 tbsp (8 g) all-purpose flour (for cream cheese mixture)
- ½ cup (85 g) chocolate chips
- 2 tsps pure vanilla extract (for brownie batter)
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp water
- ½ tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- Preparation: Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C) and line an 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper, ensuring overhanging edges for easy extraction.
- Butter Mixture: Melt butter and whisk with sugar, allowing the mixture to rest briefly to dissolve sugar crystals and create a smooth base.
- Wet Ingredients Integration: Blend whole eggs, water, and vanilla extract into the butter-sugar mixture until thoroughly combined and slightly aerated.
- Dry Ingredients Fusion: Sift cocoa powder, flour, and salt together to eliminate lumps, then gently fold into the wet ingredients, incorporating chocolate chips with minimal stirring.
- Cream Cheese Layer: Whip softened cream cheese until silky, then blend with sugar, flour, egg white, and vanilla extract until completely smooth and homogeneous.
- Layering and Marbling: Transfer chocolate batter to prepared pan, strategically place cream cheese mixture in spoonfuls, and create elegant swirls using a knife to achieve a marbled pattern.
- Baking and Cooling: Bake for 32-37 minutes until a toothpick reveals moist crumbs. Allow brownies to cool completely in the pan for at least one hour before cutting into squares.
Notes
- Prevent Overmixing: Stir batter just until ingredients combine to maintain a fudgy, tender brownie texture and avoid tough, dense results.
- Temperature Matters: Use room temperature cream cheese and eggs for smoother blending and more consistent mixing without lumps.
- Swirl Technique: Drag knife gently through batter to create elegant marbled effect, avoiding deep cuts that disrupt brownie’s smooth surface.
- Cooling is Crucial: Let brownies cool completely in pan to set structure and allow cream cheese layer to stabilize, ensuring clean, neat cuts when slicing.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 37 minutes
- Category: Desserts, Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 13
- Calories: 290
- Sugar: 23 g
- Sodium: 180 mg
- Fat: 16 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 31 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 55 mg