Halloween Cream Cheese Brownies

Ingredients needed to make Cream Cheese Swirled Brownies

Making cream cheese brownies for Halloween couldn't be easier. If you do any baking at all, you likely have the majority of these ingredients already in your pantry. Here's a list of ingredients you'll need:

• Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: does not need to be Dutch-processed. Just straight up unsweetened cocoa powder, which can be found in the baking aisle of most grocery stores if you don't already have some handy
• Semisweet Chocolate Chips: your standard chocolate chips, nothing fancy here! The combination of cocoa powder and chocolate chips, which you will be melting with some hot water to make a thick fudge, make these brownies super moist and chocolatey. Exactly what we're going for!
• Unsalted Butter: for once, it does not need to be room temperature! Cuz you're just gonna melt it anyway, so no thinking ahead (at least on this ingredient). You can certainly use salted butter instead of unsalted if that's what you have on hand. Just reduce the amount of salt called for in the recipe by half
• Vegetable Oil: if you do not have vegetable oil, use any neutral-flavored oil such as grapeseed oil or even avocado oil. Do not use olive oil, as the taste is strong and will come through in the finished brownie
• Eggs and Egg yolks: You'll need two of each for the brownie batter plus another whole egg for the cream cheese filling. I use standard US-size large eggs. These do need to be room temperature to allow for them to be evenly incorporated into the batter. Cold eggs, simply put, don't combine well with other wet ingredients. If you forgot to leave your eggs out on the counter, stick them in a bowl of warm (not hot or boiling) water for 10-15 minutes to take the chill out of them
• Vanilla Extract: go for the pure kind, not imitation. It just tastes way better. This is my absolute favorite kind - click here.
• Domino® Golden Sugar:  Domino® Golden Sugar is made from pure cane sugar. It’s a less-processed, great-tasting sugar that works cup-for-cup like any white granulated sugar. It also has a hint of molasses that adds depth to any recipe
• All-Purpose Flour: Your standard pantry staple flour. I recommend using unbleached flour to avoid unnecessary chemicals, however, use whatever you have in your pantry and whatever brand you prefer. I tend to use King Arthur Flour or Trader Joe's brand
• Kosher Salt: Okay, so salt comes in lots of varieties (kosher, table, Himalayan, sea salt, etc) and some are more salty than others. I use kosher salt in almost all my recipes and the amount called for in the recipe is based on this variety. If you like less salt in your baked goods, use less. If you have a variety that is a bit saltier, cut down on the amount. Go with your gut on this one, the amount of salt will not alter the outcome of the recipe in terms of how the brownies bake
• Cream cheese: use the kind that comes in a brick, not whipped cream cheese. Be sure to leave it out on the counter for at least 30 minutes, preferably 60 or more, before using in this recipe. Cold cream cheese will not blend well and you'll wind up with lumps in your cream cheese filling which is no bueno
• Orange gel food coloring: a few drops are used to bring the Halloween colors to life in this recipe. I prefer to use gel food coloring vs water-based or liquid food coloring, as those varieties can alter the texture of the batter
• Optional: candy eyeballs, Halloween sprinkles and a bit of frosting or decorating icing to glue them on. These can be found on Amazon or in most craft stores in the baking aisle