Brownies with Cream Cheese Frosting

Why You’ll Love this Recipe

There are so many reasons you’ll love these brownies with cream cheese frosting. First of all, they’re easy to make and you probably already have all the ingredients in your pantry!

The brownies are perfectly balanced between fudgy and chewy. They use high quality ingredients and two kinds of melted chocolate in these fudge brownies make these divine.

The cream cheese frosting is simple and adds the perfect finishing touch to this recipe. These brownies are the perfect recipe to bring to a party, potluck, holiday gathering, or just an everyday treat.

Ingredient Notes

• Butter. Butter gives these brownies amazing flavor and texture. We also use butter in the cream cheese frosting, this helps stabilize it and balance out the tanginess.  You can use salted or unsalted.
• Unsweetened Chocolate. Unsweetened chocolate makes the brownies rich and ultra-chocolatey.
• Semisweet Chocolate Chips. Semisweet chocolate chips get melted down with the butter to sweeten and add extra richness to the brownies.
• Sugar. White, granulated sugar lightens these texture, so they are dense, but not too dense.
• Dark Brown Sugar. The molasses in the brown sugar adds moisture, a little chewiness, and the smokey flavor of the molasses adds depth.
• Eggs. Eggs bind this recipe together. Use large eggs.
• Flour. We use all-purpose flour.
• Salt. Salt enhances flavors in the brownies and the cream cheese frosting.
• Vanilla. Vanilla extract gives these a rich bakery taste.
• Cream Cheese. Cream cheese in the frosting adds a creamy, tangy flavor that balances out the sweetness.
• Powdered Sugar. Powdered sugar keeps the frosting smooth and sweet.

1. Melt Butter & Chocolate. In a pot over medium heat, melt the butter, unsweetened chocolate, and chocolate chips. Stir together until smooth.

2. Add Sugars. Add the white sugar and brown sugar and mix in until dissolved.
3. Whisk in Eggs. Turn the stove off and check to see your mixture is warm, but not hot. Add each egg one at a time and whisk until smooth. Repeat with each egg. If the mixture looks grainy, keep whisking, it should smooth out.
4. Add Flour. Add salt, vanilla, and flour and whisk until smooth. Pour into a greased and parchment paper lined 9x9 or 8x8-inch pan.
5. Bake. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 35-40 minutes. Do not overbake or they’ll be dry. Cool completely before frosting.

6. Whip Cream Cheese. Whip cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add in butter cream the two together until smooth.
7. Add Powdered Sugar. Add salt, vanilla, and half of the powdered sugar. Beat until smooth. Add the remaining powdered sugar and whip until light and fluffy.
8. Frost. Spread the cream cheese frosting evenly over top of the brownies.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Expert Tips

• Use Full Fat Cream Cheese Frosting. You can absolutely use light or even fat free cream cheese in this frosting if you want, but full fat cream cheese will give you the richest cream cheese frosting.
• Cool Brownies Completely. Cool these brownies completely before frosting and eating. If you try to frost these cream cheese brownies while warm, the cream cheese frosting will melt and slide off. Also, the texture of these brownies are so much better when they have cooled completely.
• Use Room Temperature Ingredients. Room temperature ingredients will incorporate easier into the brownies and the cream cheese icing. You’ll get a fluffier and smoother cream cheese frosting using room temperature butter and cream cheese.
• Spoon and Level Flour. Too much flour will make these brownies dry and cakey. Spoon and level the flour, if you’re not familiar with this technique reference our how to measure flour post.
• Use Parchment Paper. Greasing and lining your pan with parchment paper is the easiest way to get your brownies out of the pan cleanly. I recommend leaving the edges of the parchment paper long enough that you can pull up the entire pan of brownies cleanly out of the pan.

Cream Cheese Frosting Flavor Variations

While I love the simplicity of a classic vanilla cream cheese frosting paired with a rich chocolate brownie, it is easy to switch up the flavors in this frosting recipe. Follow the recipe as written, but try one of these tasty variations.

• Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting. Try adding ¼ cup of cocoa powder in with the powdered sugar.
• Less Tangy Frosting. If you prefer a less tangy cream cheese frosting you can replace a portion of the cream cheese with an equal amount of butter. 
• Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting. Add a couple tablespoons of peanut butter when you are beating the cream cheese and butter together.
• Mint Cream Cheese Frosting. Try adding ⅛-1/4 teaspoon of mint extract with the vanilla.
• Other flavor Mix-in Ideas. You could add espresso powder, strawberry jam, Nutella, coconut extract, or orange juice or extract.

The Best Way to Cut Brownies

Brownies are notoriously messy to cut. The number one thing is to make sure they are cool.

Cutting warm brownies are a guaranteed to be a mess. Here are three ways to cut brownies cleanly.

• Freeze. Freeze the frosted brownies and then cut with a large sharp knife in clean cuts.
• Warm Knife. Use a warm knife (run under hot water and dry completely) to slice the brownies and then clean the knife after each cut.
• Plastic knife. People on Instagram and TikTok swear that cutting brownies with a plastic knife is the cleanest way to cut brownies.

How to Store this Recipe

Keep these brownies tightly covered and store at room temperature or in the refrigerator. They are best eaten within 3-4 days.

Freeze Them. I love freezing leftover brownies with cream cheese frosting. I like to wrap each brownie individually in plastic and then store them in a freezer bag or food storage container. If you choose not to wrap them individually in plastic wrap, I recommend placing parchment paper in between the brownies so they don’t stick together. The  stay good in your freezer for 3 months; just remember to thaw them first.

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