Cream Cheese Brownie Recipe with Strawberries (2024)

FAQs

Can you leave cream cheese brownies out overnight? ›

Items like cheesecake with a large amount of cream cheese, should be refrigerated, but because these brownies use so little, the flour and sugar absorb any excess moisture—this means you can hold the brownies at room temperature in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days.

Boxed brownies can be their own blank slate for just about any snacks, sweets, or baking scraps you've got in your pantry or fridge. Add a teaspoon of instant coffee or espresso powder. Throw in a handful of nuts—pecans, walnuts, macadamia, whatever you have on hand.

One change is to use milk or heavy cream instead of water. This change will make brownies more moist and gooey since milk is more fatty and flavorful than water. A second change is to use butter instead of oil. For similar reasons to using milk, butter adds a rich and more decadent quality to the batter.

Brownies are known for their moist and fudgy texture, which is usually achieved by the combination of: Fat: Butter or oil provides moisture and helps create a tender texture. Sugar: Adds moisture and contributes to the overall sweetness. Eggs: Binds the ingredients and adds moisture to the batter.

Fillings and toppings should be kept refrigerated." It also states, "Dessert containing cream cheese, whether baked or unbaked, should be covered and stored in the refrigerator. Use within 5 days."

Brownies don't need to be refrigerated, but they'll hold up a few more days if they are. Unless your brownies include more perishable ingredients like fresh fruit or cream cheese frosting, they'll be fine at room temperature as long as they're stored in an airtight container.

If you opt to add more eggs, say double the amount, something interesting happens. Even though you are adding more moisture, the air bubbles that you catch in the extra eggs add volume, which decreases the density of your final product. This makes your brownies rise and gives them a much more cake-like texture.

Salt + Chocolate = BFFs

This is the easiest way to upgrade boxed brownies. Salt enhances the natural flavors and sweetness in chocolate and suppresses its bitterness. Sprinkle a few pinches of flaky salt on top of the brownie batter before baking.

The first and easiest upgrade you can give to your boxed brownie mix is to add a tablespoon of instant coffee to the batter. Adding coffee to your brownies boosts their flavor because its bitter quality balances out sweetness, making it less overpowering. It allows that delicious chocolate flavor to really shine.

Brownie recipes traditionally call for water as it serves as a neutral liquid that hydrates the dry ingredients. However, using milk instead of water can impart a creamier texture and richer flavor to your brownies. The milk's fat content adds a smoothness that water cannot provide, resulting in a more indulgent treat.

How much butter instead of oil in brownies? ›

Replacing Oil with Butter

It couldn't be easier to substitute butter for oil using a 1:1 ratio. This should work with olive, canola, vegetable, and coconut oils. Simply melt and cool the butter to room temperature, then continue with your recipe. (If the recipe calls for ½ cup oil, use ½ cup melted and cooled butter.)

Milk is richer than water, so the brownies will be richer, and they'll be denser, like fudge. For the fudgiest brownie possible, swap all of the recommended water for milk — the extra fat will thicken the batter.

The reason we melt butter in brownie recipes instead of beating room temperature butter with sugar is because that helps give a rich, chewy, fudgy texture. Beating butter incorporates air and gives a more light, airy, cakey texture, which we don't want in a brownie.

If you want a fudgy chocolate brownie, use melted butter. For cakey brownies, beating softened butter and sugar together to create air pockets will make your brownies lighter and cakier.

In general, when a brownie is left uncut and stored in an airtight container, it will remain fresh for five days at room temperature. A pre-cut brownie stored in an airtight container will only stay fresh for 2-3 days.

Test Kitchen Tip

When you have cheesecake that's already baked and chilled, the absolute max time you could let it sit out to avoid the USDA's "danger zone" is two hours.

Brownies can be kept at room temperature for up to five days for most brownie types. A cheesecake swirl or frosting or a ganache frosting should not be kept at room temperature. Store brownies in the fridge if they contain add-ins that are normally refrigerated.

* Food Safety Guidelines: The USDA recommends that perishable foods, including cream cheese, should not be left at room temperature for more than 2 hours. After that, bacteria can rapidly multiply, reaching levels that could cause food poisoning.