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Decadent Cream Cheese Brownies

I love adding cream cheese to sweetened baked goods, even desserts like cookies or cakes. It helps to create a softer texture in the finished product.
This recipe includes swirls of tangy softened cream cheese in the brownie mixture, which helps to balance out the sweetness and richness from the chocolate and butter.

Ingredients

  • 14 Tbsp a little over 1.5 sticks butter, softened
  • ¾ cup white granulated sugar
  • ¾ cup dark brown sugar
  • 3 whole eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ¾ tsp Kosher salt
  • ½ cup cocoa powder
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup pecans (lightly toasted and roughly chopped)
  • ½ cup chopped dark chocolate (or dark chocolate chips)
  • 8 oz cream cheese (softened)
  • 2 Tbsp peanut butter
  • ¼ cup brown sugar (for adding to cream cheese)
  • ¼ tsp ground cinnamon (for adding to cream cheese)
  • 1 whole egg (for adding to cream cheese)
  • ¼ tsp Kosher salt (for adding to cream cheese)

Instructions 

  • Preheat your oven to 350˚F.
  • Grease a 9”x11” baking dish with butter, and set the greased dish aside for later.
  • Cream together the softened butter, white granulated sugar, and brown sugar using a fork.
  • When the mixture is smooth, add the whole eggs.
  • Mix again until the contents are smooth.
  • Add the vanilla extract, baking powder, Kosher salt, and cocoa powder, and mix well.
  • Add the all-purpose flour, and gently mix until the flour is almost fully incorporated.
  • Fold in the chopped pecans and chocolate, and mix until the nuts and chocolate are evenly distributed throughout the batter.
  • Set the brownie batter aside for later.
  • For the cream cheese component, blend together the softened cream cheese, peanut butter, and brown sugar until evenly mixed and smooth.
  • Add the ground cinnamon, whole egg, and Kosher salt, and mix again until completely smooth.
  • Pour half of the chocolate brownie batter into the greased baking dish that you prepared earlier.
  • Drizzle the cream cheese mixture over the brownie mixture.
  • Drizzle the remaining brownie mixture over top, leaving some visible lighter cream cheese sections.
  • Use the back of a spoon to gently smooth over the contents, leaving some contrast between the dark brownie and lighter cream cheese components of the batter.
  • Bake the brownies at 350˚F for roughly 40 minutes.
  • Remove the brownies from the oven and allow them to cool for roughly 30 minutes at room temperature.
  • Slice and serve warm, with cold glasses of whole milk.

Notes

Feel free to omit the peanut butter, if you don’t like peanut butter.
You can store the brownies in a covered container in the fridge for one week, or freeze them for even longer!