Christmas Brownies are a festive and delicious way to celebrate the season. A from-scratch brownie layer topped with a red & green swirled cream cheese layer come together to make a rich brownie that will make kids and adults happy.
Christmas Cheesecake Brownies
A couple years ago I made a Halloween Cream Cheese Swirl Brownie and they’ve been wildly popular. The bright colors combined with the tempting flavors make them hard to resist.
I wanted to replicate that magic with a brownie that’s perfect for the Christmas season. So here we are.
I think these brownies taste best straight from the fridge. They’re rich and creamy with the cream cheese layer.
Pair them with some Christmas tree brownies and you have a brownie party!
Helpful Tools
- Food Coloring Kit – This is the color kit I used for these brownies and for my Halloween brownies (& everything else I make). It’s my favorite.
- Mixing Bowls – With the non-slip bottom, my favorite!
- Hand Mixer – As much as I love my stand mixer, I use my hand mixer way more.
- 8×8 Baking Dish – I love that this one comes with a lid for easy storing.
Ingredients
Below is a list of the ingredients you’ll need to gather to make this recipe, why you need them, and possible substitutions. Scroll all the way down for the full recipe card with measurements.
Jump- Sugar
- Flour
- Cocoa Powder
- Salt
- Baking Powder
- Eggs
- Vegetable Oil (or equal parts melted butter)
- Vanilla Extract
- Cream Cheese
- Food Coloring
How to make Christmas Brownies
This section shows you how to make this recipe, with process photos showing the steps to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.
Jump- To start, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line the bottom of an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper. Spray with non-stick spray and set aside.
- First, we’ll make the brownie layer. To a medium mixing bowl, add the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder. Mix with a fork or a whisk.
- Then, to a liquid measuring cup (or another bowl if you want to dirty another one), add the oil then crack in the eggs, and add the vanilla. Again, mix together with a fork or whisk until fully combined.
- Next, pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula until just combined. Pour into the prepared baking dish.
- Now, we’ll make the cream cheese layer. First, add the room temperature cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla to a mixing bowl and blend with a hand mixer until smooth.
- Then, scoop out 1/2 cup of batter and add to a small bowl. Repeat with another bowl and 1/2 cup of batter.
- To one of the small bowls, add red food coloring. To the other small bowl, add green food coloring.
You should now have a portion of red batter, green batter, and the leftover white batter.
- Gently spoon all 3, in stripes, on top of the prepared brownie batter layer. Once added, gently swirl with a skewer. Don’t over-swirl or the colors will muddy!
- Bake for 45-50 minutes or until set.
- Finally, remove from the oven, let cool, then slice with a sharp knife, wiping away any excess on the knife between cuts so your edges are smooth.
How to store them
Because of the cream cheese layer, these brownies should be stored, covered, in the fridge.
How long are they good for
These brownies should keep 3-5 days if kept stored covered in the refrigerator.
How much food coloring should I use?
If you’re using the food coloring system that I use, for the red I used 5 drops of red and for the green I used 5 drops of yellow and 2 drops of blue.
Otherwise, you’ll have to eyeball it to whichever type of food coloring you’re using.
Need more Christmas baking ideas? Try these:
- Reindeer Cookies
- Christmas Oreo Bon Bons
- Soft & Chewy Ginger Snaps
- Christmas Tree Sugar Cookies
- Elf Snowball Cupcakes
- Snowman Oreo Balls – no bake!
Christmas Brownies
Ingredients
For the Brownie Layer:
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 large eggs
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Cream Cheese Layer:
- 8 ounces cream cheese at room temp
- ¼ cup granulated white sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- food coloring
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of an 8 x 8 baking dish with parchment paper and spray with non-stick spray. Set aside.
For the Brownie Layer
- In a medium bowl, add the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder.1 cup granulated white sugar, 1/2 cup all purpose flour, 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- In a liquid measuring cup (or small bowl), add oil, eggs, and vanilla. Mix with a fork until well combined.2 large eggs, 1/3 cup vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish.
For the Cream Cheese Layer
- In a medium bowl, add the cream cheese, sugar, egg, & vanilla. Blend until smooth.8 ounces cream cheese, 1/4 cup granulated white sugar, 1 large egg, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- To two small bowls, add 1/2 cup each of the cream cheese mixture.
- To one bowl, add red food coloring. To the other bowl, add green coloring.food coloring
- Spoon the white, red, and green cream batters on top of the brownie batter.
- Gently swirl with a skewer.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes or until set. Remove and let cool completely before slicing.
Notes
For the green layer: 5 drops of yellow + 2 drops of blue. Results will vary based on which brand and type of food coloring you use.
- Equal parts melted butter can be used in place of oil in the brownie layer.
- Due to the cream cheese layer, keep brownies covered in the fridge.
- Best enjoyed within 3–5 days.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag me on Instagram @melissa_pplates so I can see!Did You Make This?
If you made this recipe, I’d love to know how it went in the comments section below.
You can also tag me on Instagram – @melissa_ppplates or share a pic in the Persnickety Plates Community Facebook group. I love seeing what you’ve tried!
Question: I am very short on time so thinking about using boxed brownie mix. I think brownie mix cooks for about 20-30 min? Is that long enough for the cream cheese topping? Thank you
Boxed mix is fine for the brownie but it will still need the 40-50 minutes.