I looooove red velvet. There’s something really decadent about it and it’s just SO pretty. My mom recently texted me this recipe for Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies and I knew I was going to have to make them, pronto. Sadly they also disappeared from my kitchen pronto. They’re delicious and perfect as a Valentine’s Day treat, or a Christmas dessert. Or for a Tuesday afternoon with a cup of coffee. Whatevs.
I mean, just look at that red velvet with cheesecake combo. To die for. Ready for your new favorite dessert recipe?
Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies
- ½ cup butter
- 2 oz. dark chocolate, broken up into pieces
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ tsp. red food coloring
- ⅔ cup flour
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Line an 8 or 9-inch square pan with aluminum foil. This will keep the edges from burning and make it easy to remove your brownies so I'd recommend not skipping this part!
- Lightly spray the foil with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a small microwave safe bowl, heat the butter and chocolate in 30 second increments until melted. Stir with a fork or whisk until smooth. Set aside to cool a bit.
- In a medium size bowl, mix together the sugar, eggs, vanilla, and red food coloring. Add the chocolate mixture and stir until combined. The batter will be red. If you want it even more red, you can add a touch more red food coloring. I didn't need to add any more than what the recipe calls for.
- Add flour and salt to the bowl and stir until just combined. Pour into the prepared pan and smooth with a spatula.
- Time to make the cheesecake mixture! In a mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla. Beat with a mixer until smooth.
- Use a spoon and drop dollops of the cream cheese mixture on top of the red velvet batter. I made a pattern of 4x4 dollops of cream cheese.
- Use a butter knife to gently swirl the cream cheese through the brownies.
- Bake the brownies in the oven for 35-40 minutes. To tell when they're done, look for just lightly browned edges and insert a knife in the cream cheese. It should come out clean.
- Allow to cool completely before cutting and serving. You can pull up the aluminum foil and remove the whole dessert from the pan to easily cut and serve.
- Store either at room temp or in the fridge.
You can see just a touch of browning on the edge of the brownie on top in the picture above. That’s how I knew they were probably done, and when the knife I stuck in a cream cheese swirl came out clean, I knew they were ready to come out of the oven.
I waited maybe 10 minutes and then pulled the entire pan of brownies out of the pan using the aluminum foil that hung over the edge, and placed it on a cooling rack. They cooled faster this way and since everyone was dying to stuff one in, well, it was necessary.
Depending on who you’re sharing these with you might want to buy the ingredients to make 2 batches. The only sad part is that an 8×8 pan goes pretty quickly. If you’re taking them to a party, I’d make two batches or plan to cut them a bit smaller than I did. They’ll be gone in a flash. This recipe is a definite keeper. Enjoy!
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Leila Hays says
Totally trying these this weekend! It’ll be nice to have a twist on plain ole brownies. Which are delish. But twists are fun, too.
Lindsay Frank says
Agreed! They are SO good. Let me know what you think!
Gina says
Does it matter what kind of food coloring you use? I have both the liquid red drops, and the paste type stuff.
Lindsay Frank says
That’s a good question. I used the liquid red drops. The gel stuff tends to be more vibrant and ‘strong’, so if you use that, I would use less and add more if needed. It doesn’t add anything to the recipe but color so just go lighter with the gel and I think it would work just fine!