Halloween Swirl Cream Cheese Brownies

Halloween Swirl Cream Cheese Brownies have a layer of rich, dark chocolate brownie topped with a layer of orange cheesecake then swirled together for a spooky treat.  These are sure to be a perfect dessert treat for everyone at your Halloween party!

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It’s the second week of October so it’s appropriate that I’m sharing a Halloween recipe, right? When I pull up my Pinterest feed or step into any store, I’m already seeing all things Christmas. I feel behind and it’s not even November!

HALLOWEEN SWIRL CREAM CHEESE BROWNIES

Confession Time: 

To be honest, I did make these cream cheese brownies a couple months ago, but other things came up so I’m just now getting around to posting them.  The problem with that is, I don’t know where I wrote down my notes for the recipe.

If I’m too prepared, I mess myself up.

Anyway, I found the recipe so you’re in luck and will have a chance to enjoy these Halloween themed cream cheese brownies for the spooky day!

HALLOWEEN BROWNIES INGREDIENTS

• Sugar – Granulated sugar.
• Flour – All purpose flour.
• Cocoa Powder – I use Hershey’s Special Dark because you want it to be really dark/black.
• Salt – Helps enhance flavor.
• Baking Powder – For rise.
• Eggs – Large eggs.
• Vegetable Oil
• Vanilla Extract – A good quality vanilla extract, even though it’s pricey!
• Cream Cheese – A brick (8oz) at room temperature.
• Orange Food Coloring – I ordered this Wilton Color Kit and love the custom colors you can make.

TIPS FOR MAKING THESE BROWNIES:

• Line your baking pan with parchment paper to make it easy to remove after baking
• Use a skewer instead of a spatula for more intricate swirls in your cream cheese brownies
• Use this same recipe for multiple holidays, simply change out the food coloring to match the holiday (like these Christmas Brownies)!

I like that the swirls in these cream cheese brownies have a creepy, spidery effect. You could leave out the food coloring and just make these “regular” and they’d still be really pretty.

TOOLS TO HELP YOU MAKE CREAM CHEESE SWIRL BROWNIES

• Food Coloring Kit – this is the food coloring I use. I didn’t tell you exactly how much orange to use because it will depend on which kit you’re using. If you’re using the Wilton Color Right Performance Food Coloring Set I link here, it comes with a color formula chart that shows you exactly how many drops you need of each color to make bright colors, pastels, etc. It’s a really good kit. I have fun with it.
• 8 x 8 baking dish – love that this has a lid for easy storing.
• Brownie spatula – because you have to get them out of the pan!

Watch Halloween Swirl Cream Cheese Brownies being made:

NEED MORE HALLOWEEN BAKING IDEAS? TRY THESE:

• THIRTY Halloween Desserts – I compiled a great bunch of recipes in this list!
• Halloween Chocolate Tunnel Cake – the colors on this one are so fun!
• Brownie Bottom Halloween Cupcakes – brownie + cake = a whole lotta delicious.
• Black Cat Pudding Cups – these require no cooking and would be fun to send in as a class treat
• Jack-O-Lantern Brownie Bite – the kids will like to help decorate these.
• Best Halloween Party Food Ideas – not just baked goods, all kinds of ideas for your Halloween party.

This Halloween, have fun making our favorite Cream Cheese Brownies for a fun and spooky treat that everyone loves.  This grown up dessert is a perfect treat everyone will love on the Halloween party buffet table this year!

Halloween Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies

Halloween Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies have a layer of rich, dark chocolate brownie topped with a layer of orange cheesecake then swirled together for a spooky treat.

4.33 from 61 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: halloween cream cheese swirl brownies

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 9 brownies

Calories: 357kcal

Author: Melissa | Persnickety Plates

Ingredients

For the Brownie Layer:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Cream Cheese Layer:

• 8 oz cream cheese at room temp
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• orange food coloring

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8 x 8 baking dish with parchment paper or foil 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.
• In a small bowl, add the eggs, oil, and vanilla. Mix with a fork until well combined.
• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula until just combined.
• Reserve 1/4 cup of the batter for the swirls then pour the remaining 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.
• Add in the orange food coloring and stir to combine.
• Gently spread the cream cheese layer on top of the brownie batter.
• Drop tablespoons of the remaining brownie batter on top and gently swirl with a knife or skewer.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes or until set. Remove and let cool completely before slicing.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 357kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 82mg | Sodium: 232mg | Potassium: 146mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 418IU | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 1mg

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