Brownies Chocolate Desserts

Whiskey Cream Cheese Brownies

May 16, 2012

It’s no secret I love whiskey. I like to drink it, and I like to cook and make candy with it. Last week when I asked my cousin Jeanie to pick a birthday dessert from a list, I was secretly hoping she’d pick Whiskey Cream Cheese Brownies. Luckily, she did! The original recipe uses bourbon, which would work fine, but I almost always substitute Jack Daniel’s when it calls for bourbon. Use whatever you prefer to drink. It’s kind of like using wine in a recipe. Don’t use one you wouldn’t drink.

Whiskey Cream Cheese Brownies by So, How's It Taste

So, how’s it taste?

Good grief they were good! Super rich and fudgy. I could sure smell the whiskey when these were baking, but the flavor mellows out a bit in the finished product. The chocolate is really prominent, which isn’t a problem for me! I could only taste a hint of the whiskey if I got a bite that was heavy on the cream cheese part, but it’s still fantastic. The cream cheese swirled into chocolate with a slight background of Jack Daniel’s…I wouldn’t turn down this brownie for anything. Matter of fact, it’s been the reason I’ve gotten my butt off the couch and gone on a run for the past two evenings! These brownies are also excellent with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream. They’d also probably be excellent with a drizzle of hot fudge sauce over that ice cream, but I had to stop the dessert decadence somewhere, lol!

Whiskey Cream Cheese Brownies

Ingredients:

4 (1 oz.) unsweetened chocolate baking squares
3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar, divided
4 large eggs, divided
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/4 cup whiskey or bourbon (I used Jack Daniel's)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line bottom and sides of a 9-inch square pan with aluminum foil, allowing 2 to 3 inches to extend over sides; lightly grease foil.

2. Microwave chocolate squares and butter in a large microwave-safe bowl at high 1 1/2 to 2 minutes or until melted and smooth, stirring at 30-second intervals. Whisk in brown sugar and 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar. Add 3 eggs, 1 at a time, whisking just until blended after each addition. Whisk in vanilla, salt, and 1 cup flour. Spread half of batter in prepared pan.

3. Beat cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth; add 2 Tbsp. flour and remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar, beating until blended. Add bourbon and remaining 1 egg, beating until blended.

4. Pour cream cheese mixture over brownie batter in pan; top with remaining brownie batter, and swirl together.

5. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack (about 1 hour). Lift brownies from pan, using foil sides as handles. Gently remove foil; cut into squares.

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  • Kelly May 16, 2012 at 10:36 am

    Yay Jack Daniels! These sound great!

    • Leah May 17, 2012 at 12:26 pm

      Anything with Jack is great! 😉

  • Lesley May 17, 2012 at 12:25 pm

    I wonder how these would taste with that Jack Daniel’s Honey. I say we find their PR people and ask for a “donation” to the test kitchen!

    • Leah May 17, 2012 at 12:26 pm

      Ooo, I like the way you think! And I need an excuse to make them again.

    • Kacy April 16, 2016 at 2:19 pm

      I’m making them right now with the jack daniel’s Tennessee honey I’ll let y’all know how they turn out!

  • Shannon May 17, 2012 at 2:36 pm

    Hello?! Whiskey (or bourbon) & chocolate are two main parts of my diet. These would be perfect for Kevin for Father’s Day, or anyday really.

    • Leah May 17, 2012 at 2:49 pm

      Like any day that ends in “y” would work, ha ha!

  • Tim May 17, 2012 at 3:16 pm

    Wow these look amazing! I’m going to need to make these!

    • Leah May 17, 2012 at 3:38 pm

      Definitely!

  • angela@spinachtiger May 18, 2012 at 4:03 pm

    I love alcohol in chocolate. Amazing combination. Lucky cousin. Good to see you.

    • Leah May 18, 2012 at 4:49 pm

      Me too. Or me just chasing a bar of chocolate with some wine! 😉 Good to see you too yesterday! I hope your husband feels better soon.

  • ErinsFoodFiles June 9, 2012 at 5:57 pm

    WHUT. My goodness this sounds amazing!

    • Leah June 12, 2012 at 10:14 am

      They. Are. Heavenly!

  • Caitlin October 23, 2012 at 7:22 am

    I made these with jack Daniels and they were a huge hit! The whole pan was gone in 36 hours lol.

  • Amanda July 22, 2013 at 4:07 pm

    I made these with Wild Turkey 101 on the 4th!! Super huge hit. I’m actually about to make some more. 🙂

  • Stephanie January 21, 2014 at 3:20 pm

    Baked these killer brownies just the other day, and man, were they a hit! Family and friends wanted the recipe. My aunt even asked if she could take a section into her work to impress the staff! The following night, I brought a few out to impress a date and I’ll quote him as qualifying them as, “life altering”.

    I used Tap 357’s Maple Canadian Rye (reppin’ any fellow Canucks out there!), and found that by the second day that deep, rich flavour was at its finest. When they’re still warm the whiskey flavouring is not as distinct, but don’t be disheartened, these treats get better with time.

    Thanks so much for the recipe– I’ll definitely be coming back for a few more!

    • Leah Short January 22, 2014 at 8:45 am

      Thanks for stopping by and commenting, Stephanie! So glad you enjoyed them!

  • Alana October 5, 2014 at 12:21 am

    Made these tonight! Turned out amazing! They are sooo good!! They may not make it to the party…

  • Amanda March 11, 2015 at 7:15 pm

    I made these with Jim Beam honey bourbon and they were to die for!!!!! I served them at a party and everyone loved them. New favorite brownie recipe.

  • Lindsay March 30, 2015 at 5:41 pm

    Would the recipe be ruined if I added more whiskey than it calls for? 😉

    • Leah Short March 31, 2015 at 8:50 am

      I’m not sure if it would change the consistency or not, but worst case you might end up with an awesome whiskey caramel sauce instead of caramels, so I say go for it!

  • Ashley Flament October 8, 2015 at 6:44 am

    Do you recommend storing in the fridge?

    • Leah Short October 8, 2015 at 10:52 am

      Hi Ashley!
      I would because of the cream cheese, but keep in mind if stored in the fridge for a while, the brownies will start to dry out. Hopefully they won’t last that long!

  • Darlene December 5, 2015 at 10:33 pm

    Hi Leah
    These sound amazing, how do you think they would do with rum

    • Leah Short December 7, 2015 at 10:44 am

      I bet it would work pretty well! If you try it, let me know how they turn out. You can call it “research!” 🙂

  • Anni March 16, 2017 at 10:36 am

    Hey Leah,

    I want to bake your brownies so bad but we dont have unsweetened chocolate baking squares in germany. 🙁 Anything I can use instead? How about cocoa-powder? :S

    • Leah Short March 16, 2017 at 10:42 am

      Hi Anni,
      I’ve only made these brownies with the baking squares, so I’m not sure about a substitution. You may want to do an internet search to see if there’s an equivalent. I think you’ll be able to use the cocoa powder, but you’ll probably have to add more butter. Good luck and let me know how it turns out!

      • Anni March 16, 2017 at 12:35 pm

        so far so good. i substituted it with dark chocolate and used less granulated sugar. they are in the oven 🙂 But my cream cheese layer is a lot more and kind of liquid.. Always not so easy to convert cups into grams .. even though there are converters online, they are too many of them and they calculate different.. but we’ll see.
        At least i’m already tipsy from tasting the dough! 😀 so I’m optimistic 😀