Love cheesecake and brownies? Then put the two together with these cheesecake-swirled brownies! Get the best of both worlds in this tangy and chocolate-y treat!
One thing that stresses me out on a daily basis is what I’m going to eat for lunch. Sounds silly, right? Well, I get tired of eating the same old things every day. One thing that I always look forward to is getting free lunch at work. There are times when I have lunch meetings, and if I’m lucky, the organizer will get lunch catered for us.
If we’re really lucky, the in-house catering team will bring us a plate of cream cheese swirled brownies. They are huge, fudge-like and go very quickly. In fact, one of my coworkers has even attempted to get the recipe from the catering team to no avail. I guess it’s one of those secret recipes that they’re not willing to share.
While I wait for my coworker to stalk the catering manager (kidding), I’ll make these at home and won’t have to worry about these getting eaten up by hungry coworkers. Well, except I have a hungry husband and daughter… so that just means I need to do a good job hiding these from them! Mwahahaha!
The brownies here are thick and fudge-like and the cream cheese layer and swirl are similar to a cheesecake – they’re a little on the tangy side because of the Greek yogurt. So if you’re a fan of both brownies and cheesecake, then you will fall in love with the mashup of the two here!
Cream cheese swirl brownies
Ingredients
Cream cheese filling
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 1 5.3 ounce container plain Greek yogurt
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
Brownies
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chopped finely
- 8 Tablespoons 1 stick unsalted butter
- 1 and 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Generously grease or line a standard 8"x8" baking pan and set aside.
- Make the cream cheese filling: In a small bowl, melt the cream cheese. Add in the Greek yogurt, sugar and flour and mix well. Set aside.
- Make the brownies: In another small bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In another small bowl, melt the chocolate and butter together in the microwave and mix well. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, eggs and vanilla until well blended. Pour in the melted chocolate mixture (do not wash the bowl) and mix well. Then fold in the dry ingredients. Transfer about 1/2 cup of the completed batter back into the bowl that held the melted chocolate and set that aside.
- Transfer the brownie batter into your prepared pan and smooth the top. Add the cream cheese filling directly on top and spread it out into an even layer.
- Heat up the reserved brownie batter in the microwave for about 15-20 seconds or until it's more liquidy. Dollop about 6-8 mounds of the heated batter on top of the cream cheese filling. Swirl with a toothpick or a knife to create a marbled pattern. You don't want to do it too much or else the batter won't swirl - a few strokes going parallel and perpendicular should do the trick.
- Bake in your preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Allow the brownies to cool to room temperature before slicing and serving.
- Brownies should be kept in an airtight container and stored at room temperature or in the refrigerator and will keep for several days.
Notes
