Brownies with Cream Cheese Frosting will sweeten up any day. The gooey, fudgy brownie topped with creamy, tangy frosting creates a heavenly, decadent, and perfectly balanced treat you'll adore. For another easy delight, try our Fudgy Hershey's One-Bowl Brownies or our Condensed Milk Brownies!
Why You'll Love This Recipe For Brownie with Cream Cheese Frosting
If you're looking for a way to satisfy your sweet tooth, look no further than this indulgent brownie recipe with cream cheese frosting. You'll love this easy cocoa brownie recipe that mixes up as quickly as a store bought mix, but with oh so much more flavor!
Not only that, but the cream cheese frosting without butter is economical and a snap to mix together also! These ooey gooey fudgy brownies with cream cheese frosting will get rave reviews from your fans!
Ingredients Overview
This recipe makes a 9x13 pan of brownies. If you want an 8x8 batch, you can of course halve the recipe, or make our Hershey's Cocoa Brownies, which is an 8x8 pan brownie recipe.
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How To Make Brownies with Cream Cheese Frosting
Whether you are an experienced baker or just getting started in the kitchen, these delicious fudgy brownies with cream cheese frosting are easy enough for anyone to make and guaranteed to impress those who try them!
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper, aluminum foil, or spray with non stick cooking spray.
- Measure the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt into a bowl and whisk them together to blend and break up any cocoa powder lumps.
PRO TIP: Lining the 9x13 pan will let you lift the slab of brownies out without digging brownies out with a spatula!
PRO TIPS: What's the secret to fudgy brownies that are not dry? Two things!
- Don't over bake. Take them out of the oven by 35 minutes tops, even if you are worried they might not be quite done.
- Use half of the fat as vegetable oil! Yes, butter firm up, and oil will keep them moist and tender. Using half oil and half butter gives you perfection in taste and texture!
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the softened butter, oil, sugar, and vanilla extract until just blended. Don't over mix!
- Add the eggs, one at a time and mix until just blended, again don't over mix and incorporate air into the mixture.
- Add the whisked flour and cocoa powder mixture in two or three increments mixing until the flour is just blended in completely. Don't over mix.
- Pour brownie batter into the prepared 9x13 baking pan and bake for 30 - 35 minutes. Check at 30 minutes with a toothpick in the center of the brownies. If it comes out clean, remove immediately. The brownies wills start to pull away from the edges of the pan also. The brownies will continue to cook as they cool.
- Set brownies on a cooling rack to cool, and mix up the cream cheese frosting!
This is very much like my Cream Cheese Frosting Without Butter recipe, and it is perfect for these brownies. They don't need a buttery frosting, as it stays super soft. Cream cheese frosting without butter holds up better for frosting cookies and brownies.
- Mix the softened cream cheese and powdered sugar together to blend. Add the vanilla extract.
- Continue to mix until you have a creamy cream cheese frosting that is fluffy.
Make sure you completely cool the brownies before frosting them with the cream cheese frosting. This is even more important if you use my Classic Cream Cheese Frosting that does include butter in the recipe.
- Make sure brownies are completely cool, so they don't melt the fluffy cream cheese frosting.
- Spread the cream cheese frosting all over the brownies, cut, and serve on a platter.
Everyone knows that the combination of chocolate and cream cheese is heavenly, so there's nothing quite like biting into a gooey brownie topped with creamy cream cheese frosting.
Whether you're serving these as a dessert after dinner or just spoiling yourself with them in between meals, you'll be so glad you made them!
Substitutions and Variations
Here are a few delicious variations or substitutions when making this recipe.
- You can use all oil or all butter if you prefer instead of the half and half in this brownie with cream cheese frosting recipe.
- For a Chocolate Cream Cheese frosting add ¼ cup of cocoa powder to the cream cheese frosting !
- You can also add 1 teaspoon of instant coffee powder to accentuate the chocolate fudge flavor for your brownies! You won't notice the coffee at all, it just deepens the chocolate fudge flavor.
Tips for Success
Here are a few tips for making this recipe:
- Don't over mix the butter, oil, sugar, and eggs.
- Mix the pre blended dry ingredients in just until the flour is mixed in. Don't over mix.
- Test doneness at 30 minutes and remove as soon as the toothpick comes out clean from the center for the best brownies. They will continue to cook while cooling.
Storage Options
Some recommended storage options for this recipe are:
- Cover and refrigerate any leftover cream cheese frosted brownies after a few hours at room temperature.
- If you don't frost the brownies, you can keep them at room temperature for several days.
- You can easily freeze these cream cheese frosted brownies before or after cutting.
- Just cover with foil and freeze up to 3 months. You can wrap each brownie with cream cheese frosting individually also for packing in lunches. Defrost in the refrigerator.
Related Recipes
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies
- Sheet Pan Brownies (Brownies for a crowd)
- Hocus Pocus Brownies
- Mummy Brownies
- Hershey Cocoa Brownies
- Buttercream Cream Cheese Frosting
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can bake them in two 8x8 or two 9x9 pans. Bake at 350 for 20 to 22 minutes, or until the brownies start to pull away from the sides of the pan, and a toothpick comes out clean from the middle of the pans. The 8x8 pans will be thicker brownies.
One of the secrets to fudgy, chocolatey brownies is using cocoa powder not melted chocolate or chocolate chips. The other secret is higher fat and egg ratio to flour, and the third secret is to not over over bake.
Yes! Cocoa powder has lumps. By sifting or whisking it in with the flour and other dry ingredients you break those lumps up, ensuring the cocoa powder mixes in evenly into the brownie batter.
More Cookie Recipes
Get The Recipe!
Brownies with Cream Cheese Frosting
Equipment
- 9x13 Baking Pan
- Large Rimmed Cookie sheet with cooling racks
Ingredients
9x13 Fudge Brownie Recipe
- 1 cup flour
- ¾ cup cocoa powder unsweetened
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter unsalted, softened
- ½ cup vegetable oil sunflower, corn, etc
- 2 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs
Cream Cheese Brownie Frosting
- 4 oz cream cheese softened
- 2¼ cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
9x13 Fudge Brownies
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper, aluminum foil, or spray with non stick cooking spray.PRO TIP: Lining the 9x13 pan will let you lift the slab of brownies out without digging brownies out with a spatula!
- Measure the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt into a bowl and whisk them together to blend and break up any cocoa powder lumps.1 cup flour, ¾ cup cocoa powder, ½ teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the softened butter, oil, sugar, and vanilla until just blended. Don't over mix!½ cup butter, ½ cup vegetable oil, 2 cup sugar, 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add the eggs, one at a time and mix until just blended, again don't over mix and incorporate air into the mixture.4 large eggs
- Add the whisked flour and cocoa powder mixture in two or three increments mixing until the flour is just blended in completely. Don't over mix.
- Pour brownie batter into the prepared 9x13 baking pan and bake for 30 - 35 minutes. Check at 30 with a toothpick in the center of the brownies. If it comes out clean, remove immediately. The brownies will continue to cook as they cool.
- Set brownies on a cooling rack to cool, and mix up the cream cheese frosting!
Cream Cheese Brownie Frosting
- Mix the softened cream cheese and powdered sugar together to blend. Add the vanilla extract.2¼ cup powdered sugar, 4 oz cream cheese, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Continue to mix until you have a creamy cream cheese frosting that is fluffy.
- Make sure brownies are completely cool, so they don't melt the fluffy cream cheese frosting.
- Spread the cream cheese frosting all over the brownies, cut, and serve on a platter.
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