These Kahlua Cream Cheese Brownies are not your average brownies, but they are also super simple to whip up. Chocolate, cream cheese and coffee goodness in these beautiful cheesecake swirled brownies!
Hello! I am sooooo excited to share today’s recipe with you because it is the first of a new series I plan to bring to the blog monthly.
Today I introduce to you what I will call Beyond The Basics. Consider these recipes very simple upgrades of some of your everyday recipes. I have been very inspired lately by how much you can change the most ordinary recipes just by adding a few little tweaks.
These Kahlua Cream Cheese Brownies are a perfect way to kick things off, don’t you agree??
Here is what I mean by Beyond The Basics. I am sure we all may have a box of brownie mix hanging out in the pantry. There is nothing like a delicious fudge brownie, especially since they really are so simple to make. Buuuut, imagine if you cold take that brownie mix and create something truly WOW just by adding a little something to them. Instantly they become a whole new experience, a whole new taste, and most importantly, they become, WOW.
And that’s all you really need to do with these Kahlua Cream Cheese Brownies.
Find your favorite brownie mix and prep it as you always would. Then, add some magic–a touch of Kahlua and espresso powder to the powder. But why stop there? Whip together some cream cheese and a few other ingredients and then swirl that beautiful richness right into the brownie batter. Bake and Voila! You have yourself gooey, rich, coffee liqueur infused cheesecake brownies. A party for the taste buds without much work at all. And no one you share them with has to know it all began with a boxed brownie mix–THAT is the real beauty!!!
And that my friends is what this new series is all about. I am sure many of us could whip up a package of brownies with our eyes closed. Now we get to take the basic and create something extraordinary, but without much more effort!
So what else can you expect to see in this series of recipes? Think things like upgraded corn bread using a basic box of corn bread mix, ways to jazz up an everyday pancake mix, mac and cheese variations and SOOOO much more. Sometimes we put pressure on ourselves to do things from scratch and that using any packaged food or shortcuts is cheating. Well, if it’s cheating then I guess I am happy to be a big old cheater!!! How about you??
Grab the Kahlua and let’s get to baking today friends!
DID YOU MAKE ONE OF MY RECIPES? LEAVE A COMMENT AND LET ME KNOW! I ALSO LOVE TO SEE YOUR LEMONS + ZEST RECIPES ON SOCIAL MEDIA–TAG ME @LEMONSANDZEST ON INSTAGRAM OR FACEBOOK!
Kahlua Cream Cheese Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 brownie mix package (approx. 18oz) plus ingredients to bake (typically eggs and oil)
- 1/4 c Kahlua
- 1 tsp espresso powder
For Cream Cheese Layer
- 1 8oz. block of cream cheese, softened
- 1/3 c sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven according to brownie package instructions (mine was 350°F.)
- Mix brownie batter ingredients as directed. Stir in espresso powder and Kahlúa and mix well to combine. Pour batter into a well greased or parchment lined 9x13 baking pan.
- In a medium bowl, using a hand mixer or standing mixer, mix cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. (about 2-3 minutes)
- Spoon dollops of the cream cheese mixture into the brownie batter and using a toothpick or a knife, swirl it into the brownie mix.
- Place in oven and bake according to package directions. Remove from oven and cool for 15 minutes before enjoying!
Leave a Reply