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    Red Velvet Brownies

    May 23, 2011 ·

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    This weekend I temporarily lost my baking mojo. I burnt a batch of caramel, ruined shortbread and my pizza dough was a disaster. What was happening? Why did my favorite past time turn on me? ...Sunday night rolled around and I felt the need to redeem myself with one last recipe for Red Velvet Cream Cheese brownies. I crossed my fingers, said a little prayer and made a batch. (Insert magic fairy dust noise here) Success! This recipe was so easy-peasy, moist and delicious and best yet, it's safe to make when your baking mojo has decided to take the day off!

    photo by Freutcake

    Red Velvet Cream Cheese Brownies

    Red Velvet:
    1 stick unsalted butter, (8 Tbsp) melted
    1 cup sugar
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    ¼ cup cocoa powder
    Pinch salt
    1 tablespoon red food coloring
    1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
    2 eggs
    ¾ cup all purpose flour

    Cream Cheese:
    8 ounces cream cheese, softened
    ¼ cup sugar
    1 egg
    ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8 x 8 inch pan. {I used glass}

    Brownie layer: Add melted butter to a large bowl and add sugar, vanilla, cocoa powder, salt, food coloring, and vinegar, mixing after each addition. Whisk the eggs into the cocoa mix. Mix in the flour until lightly combined. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, saving ⅓ to ¼ cup of the batter for the cream cheese layer.

    Cream cheese layer: Blend together cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla in a medium mixing bowl. Spread the cream cheese on top of the brownie batter in the pan. Put the remaining cocoa batter over the cream cheese layer. Using the tip of a knife, swirl through the cream cheese mixture to create a swirl pattern. Bake the brownies for 30 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely before cutting.

    To store: wrap remaining brownies in saran wrap and keep in fridge.


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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. MG says

      May 23, 2011 at 9:50 am

      Lucky me, I just started the damn clean program today. So these are going into my ridiculously long list of "things to eat in 20 days".

      • freutcake says

        May 23, 2011 at 10:43 am

        Wow 20 days! Good luck MG!

    2. michele prata says

      May 23, 2011 at 10:08 am

      Oh Freutcake!

      I am going to make these today to serve with my champagne toast for my Birthday tomorrow! Thanks for posting such a great inspiration! Sounds like Heaven!

      Kisses!
      Michele

      • freutcake says

        May 23, 2011 at 10:37 am

        Happy Birthday Michele! xoxo

    3. Lane Culpepper says

      May 26, 2011 at 4:06 pm

      Oh cream cheese heaven! What a tasty and beautiful dessert 🙂

    4. One for the Oven says

      June 02, 2011 at 3:43 pm

      wooooo

    5. Amy Kelly says

      September 30, 2011 at 5:35 pm

      Did you use liquid or gel food coloring for these? I'm planning to make these for the Dexter premiere this Sunday and I want to make sure I get a super vibrant red like your lovely brownies!

      • freutcake says

        September 30, 2011 at 6:09 pm

        Hi Amy! I used liquid red food coloring and they turned out very red! Also, try not to "swirl" them too much when you run your knife through because this will mix the batter and cream cheese and make a muddy looking brownie. Hope you enjoy them and have fun!

    6. Cole says

      October 11, 2011 at 3:43 pm

      They are a little too cake like and not enough brownie like for our family 🙁

      • freutcake says

        October 11, 2011 at 3:50 pm

        So sorry to hear that! They were very fudgy when I made them. 🙁

    7. Kelsey says

      October 13, 2011 at 2:20 pm

      This may be a completeyly noob question... When you say melted butter, do you mean softened outside the fridge for a bit or completely melted in the microwave? I never know which one to do...

      • freutcake says

        October 13, 2011 at 3:37 pm

        Hi Kelsey, you can either melt butter in the microwave in a microwave safe bowl or melt over low in a small sauce pan. Either way works fine. If you use the microwave check after 30 seconds and stir.

    8. Tammy says

      October 13, 2011 at 8:01 pm

      I would love to make these. Did you use self rising, all purpose or cake flour. Looking forward to a reply so that I can bake them. Yummy!

      • freutcake says

        October 13, 2011 at 8:10 pm

        Hi Tammy, thanks for the question! I used all-purpose flour for this recipe.

    9. ~Natural Little Mother~ says

      November 10, 2011 at 3:37 pm

      These brownies look amazing. I can't wait to try this recipe.

    10. Drina Murphy says

      November 11, 2011 at 4:08 am

      These look absolutely fab! I will put these on my never ending dessert recipe list;)

    11. Janet Brown says

      November 11, 2011 at 2:17 pm

      I can't wait to try this.

    12. Janet Brown says

      November 11, 2011 at 2:18 pm

      I can't wait to try this recipe love red velvet cake also.

    13. Diamond Oak says

      November 11, 2011 at 4:59 pm

      I makecram cheese brownis all the time never thought about red velvet. this is going to be a great addition to my collection

    14. Rachel Conners says

      November 13, 2011 at 9:36 pm

      I've been dying to make red velvet brownies lately!
      Can't wait to try these...the cream cheese swirl looks amazing!

      • freutcake says

        November 14, 2011 at 8:22 am

        The secret to the big, beautiful "swirls" is to not over mix the layers when you run your knife through. Hope you enjoy the recipe!

    15. Christina Edmondson says

      November 13, 2011 at 10:29 pm

      I'm not a fan of brownies, but Red Velvet is our family's favorite. I'm going to make these for Thanksgiving!!! Thanks for sharing 😉

    16. Cat Davis - Food Family Finds says

      November 14, 2011 at 10:35 pm

      Mmmmm that has my name written all over it and that would be so pretty to make for Christmas.

      • freutcake says

        November 15, 2011 at 9:09 am

        Hi Cat! You're right..these would be perfect for Christmas! 🙂

    17. Alison says

      November 16, 2011 at 9:09 am

      I'd like this recipe better without the eggs,there's virtually no use for the eggs.

      • freutcake says

        November 16, 2011 at 10:23 am

        I am not sure how it would work but this website gives great ideas for egg substitutes in brownie recipes if you are not able to use eggs! http://chefinyou.com/egg-substitutes-cooking/

    18. CaraRsoe says

      November 17, 2011 at 11:39 am

      Would these work just as well in a 9x13 pan or would the middle not cook as well? How long should I cook them for?

      • freutcake says

        November 17, 2011 at 11:45 am

        I wouldn't use a pan larger than 8x8. These are a layered brownie and the amount of batter is perfect for an 8x8. It would be too thin in a larger pan. Hope that helps!

        • CaraRsoe says

          November 17, 2011 at 12:12 pm

          What if I double the ingredients?

          • freutcake says

            November 17, 2011 at 3:31 pm

            I am not sure how doubling this recipe would work, please let me know how it turns out!

            • CaraRsoe says

              November 18, 2011 at 9:25 am

              i doubled the recipe and cooked it for 45 minutes. came out PERFECT!!!! thanks for the fabulous recipe, the bars were so pretty and so delicious!

            • freutcake says

              November 18, 2011 at 9:50 am

              Yay! Thank you so much for testing that out! Plus...who wouldn't want a double batch of red velvet brownies! The more the merrier. 🙂 Have a great weekend.

    19. Katy says

      November 18, 2011 at 11:49 am

      These look wonderful!

    20. CJ says

      November 19, 2011 at 1:42 pm

      Made these two days ago for my mom's birthday, and they so were amazing I had to come back and rave about them. They were better than I had dared hope. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe.

      • freutcake says

        November 19, 2011 at 4:49 pm

        CJ,
        Happy Birthday to your Mom. Thank you so much for the sweet comment! I am so glad that you and your Mom liked them. 🙂

    21. kaylee says

      November 21, 2011 at 10:07 pm

      shouldn't the sugar in the cream cheese mixture be confectioners sugar?

      • freutcake says

        November 21, 2011 at 10:20 pm

        Hi Kaylee- In this recipe the sugar used in the cream cheese mixture is just regular granulated sugar.

    22. Bianca says

      November 27, 2011 at 12:44 pm

      Just made these. They were great! I didn't read these comments til I'd finished, but next time I'll know to be more careful when making the swirls to make them bigger (mine ended up being a little muddy looking) but they still tasted delicious!

      • freutcake says

        November 27, 2011 at 1:16 pm

        So glad you liked them! 🙂 Thanks for coming back and leaving a comment.

    23. Nikki says

      November 30, 2011 at 11:26 am

      Could you use just a brownie mix and add the red food coloring? Would they turn out the same?

      • freutcake says

        November 30, 2011 at 11:32 am

        No, I wouldn't use brownie mix. Red Velvet really doesn't have that much chocolate in it. In fact this recipe only calls for 1/4 cup of cocoa powder and brownie mix is much more chocolatey.

    24. Nikki says

      November 30, 2011 at 11:33 am

      Ah, very true! Can't wait to try these! Thank you!

      • freutcake says

        November 30, 2011 at 11:36 am

        Hope you like them! 🙂

    25. Kate says

      December 05, 2011 at 9:53 am

      I made these last night and they didn't work! There was soon much butter - when you say a stick do you mean a pound or a half pound stick?

      • freutcake says

        December 05, 2011 at 9:56 am

        Kate- One stick of butter should only be 4 OZ. or 1/2 cup, 8 Tbsp.

    26. Stephanie says

      December 07, 2011 at 12:00 am

      I know this sounds crazy but in some places you don't buy sticks of butter the way we do in the states... packaging can be different... I wonder if that is what happened to the previous reply...

    27. Jessica says

      December 17, 2011 at 6:35 pm

      These look absolutely DIVINE! I am going to make them for a work holiday party. I'm sure they will be delicious!

    28. Mander says

      December 20, 2011 at 7:55 pm

      Hi!
      I stumbled upon this recipe, and I decided to try it out for my Christmas dinner.
      I added green food colouring to the cream cheese mix, and not only are they festive, but they are delicious! Thanks so much for putting this recipe online! 🙂

      • freutcake says

        December 20, 2011 at 8:04 pm

        What a great idea! Thanks for coming back and sharing. 🙂 Merry Christmas to you and your family.

    29. kim0612 says

      December 21, 2011 at 2:43 pm

      I made these for thanksgiving....they turned out amazing..thank you, they were a big hit!!

    30. Amanda says

      December 30, 2011 at 12:49 pm

      I can't wait to try these, I think they will be a hit at the New Years Eve party this weekend! YAY!

    31. TD says

      January 04, 2012 at 11:55 am

      My sister made these for our family Christmas... There are no words to describe how amazing they were!! Thanks for sharing this sinful recipe!

      • freutcake says

        January 04, 2012 at 12:03 pm

        Oh good! Thanks so much for coming back and letting me know that you liked them. 🙂

    32. Anthony says

      January 04, 2012 at 12:13 pm

      Oh dear god these look good! Definitely giving these a shot, i baked for the first time around thanks giving (pumpkin chocolate chip brownies) and they came out a bit more like a really rich cake than a brownie, maybe trying these will help me fix that 😀

    33. Cassie Stephens says

      January 04, 2012 at 7:13 pm

      this was amazing 🙂 thank you so much.

    34. Anthony says

      January 08, 2012 at 5:39 pm

      i think i overcooked them, they came out mostly correctly (though they were a bit darker than they look in this pic), but they didn't taste very sweet, definitely think i overcooked them :'(

      • freutcake says

        January 08, 2012 at 7:57 pm

        Aw, sorry to hear that!

    35. Sarah says

      January 12, 2012 at 2:55 pm

      These look delicious! I want to make them tonight. How many does this batch serve? Theres roughly 30 people going, is this enough?

      • freutcake says

        January 12, 2012 at 3:17 pm

        Hi Sarah, this only make one square 8x8" which I usually cut 4x4 so it makes 16 small brownie squares. Because it is rich you can cut them rather small. If you are serving 30 people you will want to make two batches!

    36. Julia says

      January 30, 2012 at 7:20 pm

      I am planning on making these this weekend, they look so good! However, I don't have apple cider vinegar. Can I substitute white vinegar or something else?

      • freutcake says

        January 30, 2012 at 7:30 pm

        Yes, you can substitute the same amount of white vinegar.

    37. Karen says

      February 01, 2012 at 7:49 pm

      I made dinner for my roomates JUST so I could use this recipe! These brownies are AMAZING!!!! So moist and fudgy! My pregnant roomie loves red velvet so it was a special treat to her! We all loved them!

    38. Emily says

      April 07, 2012 at 7:51 pm

      I just tried this recipe and did it by the book... And it turned out like a cake. 🙁

    39. Enid says

      April 07, 2012 at 8:34 pm

      Greetings from Enid Jones Photography! Thanks for sharing! I think this is going to be made soon! Oh and thank you for being honest! I am not an AMAZING baker....but I think I do a good job. When I come to sites where the food is ALWAYS as it should be....amazing....It makes me want to just order stuff instead of make it. But knowing even the amazing ones out there have down days...makes me feel a little more confident to keep going! 🙂 Hope your Baking Mojo stays around though! Good stuff!

    40. Louise says

      May 09, 2012 at 5:22 pm

      these were so yummy:) i made them for a friends wake and they were great, cream cheese with red velvet is a perfect combo.i hope you dont mind that ive blogged about them! (with a link to you of course) thanks for the recipe! great pic too!

      • freutcake says

        May 10, 2012 at 10:06 am

        So sorry to hear that you had to make them for a friends wake however I'm glad you enjoyed them! And yes, I love that you blogged about them. Thank you for sharing the love.

    41. Kayla says

      May 19, 2012 at 8:09 pm

      Ive had mine in the oven for a while, and the batter directly under the cream cheese is still runny. I don't know what happened!

    42. Cindy says

      June 12, 2012 at 3:31 pm

      I made these for our Relay For Life bake-off and won the champion dessert 🙂

    43. Kayla says

      July 20, 2012 at 3:53 pm

      *sad sigh* I'm on a no sugar (ok, maybe a little, but this MUCH sugar would kill me!) detox right now and pintrest is making life so much harder. Needless to say, when this is all over I will be making these!!!

    44. Kate says

      July 28, 2012 at 1:33 pm

      I made these because they looked like the best dessert I've ever seen in my life...however I honestly was a little disappointed in them 🙁 The Cream Cheese layer blows your mind but the red velvet seemed a little bitter? I know some people were worried about too much sugar but I still put the exact amount and ended up feeling like it could've tasted better. I'm waiting for them to cool off some more and I'll try them again cold but so far not that great 🙁 I hate leaving negative comments, so sorry!

    45. Mrs. Stacy Hobson says

      August 06, 2012 at 3:44 am

      Yay!!! I made this recipe into cupcakes! I loved it and so did my grandma, sister, dad, mom, brother and husband!! I prob left them in a little longer than the recipe calls for (it was midnight...I was sleepy) but they were still fab!! I just need to work on my swirling skills because mine looked a little muddy...

    46. Patricia says

      August 11, 2012 at 10:49 am

      Just made these and they were delicious!! Very moist and tasty. I always used boxed recipes so this was a first for me. Thank you!!

    47. Joe says

      August 11, 2012 at 10:46 pm

      I just made these tonight. Wonderful! great texture, beautiful color....only thing i would do is up the sugar just a bit. in the cream cheese, I'd go from 1/4 to 1/3 cup, and for the brownie, if you just wanted to, I'd go for just a little over a cup.....omg they are delicious as is, though! LOL

    48. Kham says

      August 16, 2012 at 6:46 am

      It doesn't get much better than this. Luuuurrve it!

    49. chana says

      September 25, 2012 at 9:05 pm

      awe man, my brownies came out muddy.. read that comment too late.. but they still tasted great! Also, I think it's my oven, it took an hour to cook and the center wasn't cooked all the way. But I'm now convinced it's my oven, that's the 4th time it did that. I thought maybe it was me, but it isn't. It's my oven.. >sad face<

      • freutcake says

        September 25, 2012 at 10:42 pm

        Aw, so sorry to hear you had trouble! 🙁 Glad they still tasted good.

    50. JJLester says

      October 01, 2012 at 4:15 pm

      OMG! I found this page a few days ago and could not wait to try them. I just finished baking them and I must say, super yum! I didn't have any red food colouring (because a certain 6 year old decided to try to make fake blood) so instead I used blue. So it was blue velvet. And it was a huge hit! Thanks for sharing this recipe. ^_^

      • freutcake says

        October 03, 2012 at 8:51 am

        So glad you found my site! Blue velvet cream cheese brownies sound just as tasty! 😉

    51. Seima Bakes says

      October 06, 2012 at 12:43 am

      I made these a few months back but never left a comment,today I am going to make them again! I must say just how amazing your recipe is. It came out perfect,moist,dense,fudgy,red-velvety,I LOVE it! I think some could taste bitterness due to the food coloring they used,I used red liquid food coloring and its tasteless. This recipe is a keeper and yup fun to play around with other colors too! One thing though,is it necessary to add a few tablespoons of buttermilk? Just wondering! Thanks for posting this! 🙂

    52. ali says

      October 25, 2012 at 2:31 pm

      very quick and easy recipe! however, i had to bake them for about 35 mins. unfortunately they turned out a light brown color, not as red as i would have liked! they turned out very well, taste awesome!

      • freutcake says

        October 25, 2012 at 2:33 pm

        Hi Ali. If they weren't quite as red as you would have liked, you might try gel food coloring next time. This will give you a much brighter color!

    53. Lavon Lewis says

      November 09, 2012 at 7:24 am

      I'll make these for grown daughter's birthday party this weekend along with Italian Cream Cake, which she asked for. Yum, Yum

      • freutcake says

        November 09, 2012 at 1:06 pm

        Hope she enjoys them! 🙂 Happy birthday to your daughter!

    54. Nicole says

      November 13, 2012 at 8:34 am

      These are baking in the oven as we speak. Can't wait to try them!!

    55. Crystal says

      November 21, 2012 at 6:31 am

      Do you need to sift the flour

      • freutcake says

        November 21, 2012 at 9:27 am

        No, sifting is not necessary.

    56. Liz says

      December 21, 2012 at 5:28 pm

      Just made these tonight for a holiday party I'm going to tomorrow. Of course I had to try them and they turned out amaaaazing! Can't wait to make them again! Hubs and I are trying not to have more otherwise there won't be any left for the party! Thanks for sharing this recipe! 🙂

    57. Lauren Marshall says

      January 10, 2013 at 1:05 pm

      Thank you so much for this recipe! I dont bake much and have never made homemade brownies but these might be the best ive ever had! Followed your instructions exactly and they turned out perfect. 🙂

      • freutcake says

        January 10, 2013 at 9:12 pm

        I'm so happy you enjoyed them! Thank you so much for coming back and letting me know how they turned out. 🙂

    58. Miranda Mcloughlin says

      February 07, 2013 at 2:55 pm

      I want to make these for part of my boyfriend's Valentine's Day gift, but I don't want to have to make the brownies from scratch. Could I just add the red food coloring to pre made brownie mix?

      • freutcake says

        February 07, 2013 at 5:02 pm

        Hi Miranda. I think that adding red food coloring to a boxed mix would be interesting to try but I don't think you will get the same result. This recipe only calls for a small amount of chocolate and apple cider vinegar which gives it the red velvet flavor. Red velvet is not a super chocolatey flavor. I hope you will try this recipe from scratch; I promise it is easy!

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