These homemade German Cream Cheese Brownies are a delicious addition to any holiday cookie platter. This recipe is made from scratch but SO easy! Rich chocolate brownies swirled with sweet cream cheese helps make this a decadent treat your family will love!
½cupof coarsely chopped nutsoptional- I didn't use them
¼tsp.of almond extract
Instructions
Line a 9x9 pan with parchment paper (extend it up over the sides for easy removal) and grease it.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Melt your chocolate and 3 Tbsp. of butter in a double boiler over low heat, stirring constantly (or do it in the microwave in two 15 second increments followed by 10 second increments, stirring between each increment until it's fully melted). Set aside to cool.
Cream the remaining butter in with the cream cheese until softened and well combined.
Slowly add ¼ cup of sugar until it's light and fluffy, then stir in 1 egg, 1 tablespoon of flour, and ½ tsp. of vanilla and set aside.
In a separate bowl, beat the remaining eggs until they're fluffy and light in color. Gradually add the remaining ¾ cup of sugar and beat it all together until it's thickened.
Fold in the baking powder, salt and remaining ½ cup of flour, followed by the cooled chocolate. Stir in the nuts, almond extract and remaining 1 tsp. of vanilla.
Once this is all combined, measure 1 cup of the chocolate batter and set aside.
Spread the remaining chocolate batter to cover the bottom of the baking pan.
Pour the cream cheese mixture over the chocolate batter on the baking pan and spread it out.
Drop the remaining 1 cup of chocolate batter in spoonfuls all over the cheese mixture.
Using a butter knife, swirl the chocolate batter dollops with the cream cheese mixture to create a marbling effect (Don't over do it, I learned that less is more. I think I swirled a bit too much on mine so the marbling in the photos isn't as pronounced as it could be.).
Bake for 35-40 minutes and then cool and cut into squares.
Store covered and in the refrigerator until you're ready to serve.