Brookie cheesecake cups are the perfect treat to whip together for company. Part brownie, part cookie, and one hundred percent delicious. Sandwiched in the middle is a creamy cheesecake filling that ties all the flavors together. And best of all, this recipe is so easy to make.
About Brookie Cheesecake Cups
Brookies became a big hit a few years back, and their popularity continues to grow. I think that’s because it combines two of the most popular desserts. You mix a fudgy brownie, with a chocolate chip cookie, to get a brookie that pumps up the volume on these favorite desserts.
One of the great things about this recipe is that it is super easy to make. While you could make homemade brownie batter and homemade chocolate chip cookie dough, this brookie cheesecake cups recipe uses store bought batter. That way you can whip together this recipe in a matter of minutes, and it just takes about 30 minutes to bake.
I also like this recipe because it doesn’t take much to pull it together. Brownies are best when mixed by hand, so you just need a large bowl and spoon to combine. I do think that an electric mixer is helpful for the cheesecake batter, but if you don’t have a stand mixer or hand mixer that’s ok. Just leave the cream cheese on the counter for a little bit before you start. Room temperature cream cheese will be softer and will mix together more easily.
This recipe calls for making jumbo brookie cups, which makes these more like brookie cupcakes. However, you could just as easily use a regular muffin tin. Or a mini muffin tin. The nice thing about using a jumbo muffin tin is that it makes a brownie cookie treat that is perfect for a special occasion.
Top the brookie cup with ice cream and you have the most amazing dessert that guests will rave about. Just don’t forget to grease the muffin tin. I like to use a non-stick cooking spray to make sure that the brookies don’t stick. I prefer greasing the pan, rather than using cupcake liners, because it makes it easier for plating the dessert to serve with ice cream and a drizzle of chocolate.
If you’re looking for a smaller bite and need to make something for a crowd, then using a mini muffin pan works well. This gives you bite size brookies that are perfect for a party, bake sale, or baby shower. These brookie cheesecake cups are best when eaten right away. Because they have a cream cheese filling, you should refrigerate any leftovers. To me this messes up the creamy goodness of these cookie cups. Sure, you could microwave them for a few seconds to warm them up, but I still think they are best eaten right away when they are warm. Any extras can be stored in an airtight container.
How to Make Brookie Cups
The chocolate chip cookie dough forms the bottom of the brookie. You can use your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe if you want, but the easy way is to pick-up a tube of cookie dough. Put about 1/4 cup cookie dough in the bottom of the pan and then press it slightly so that it goes up the sides of the muffin tin and makes more of a well in the center. This is where you’ll add the cream cheese mixture. You can adjust how much you put in, but about 3 tablespoons is best for a jumbo brookie.
The cheesecake batter is then topped with the brownie mixture. Again, you can make your own from scratch. But using a box brownie mix makes it easy. Use any brownie mix you like. I personally like fudgy brownies, so I use a box of Betty Crocker fudge brownie mix. Top the cookie dough and cheesecake mixture with the brownie batter. You want to completely cover the tins with the brownie mix.
Brookie Cheesecake Cups
Equipment
- 6 count jumbo muffin Pan
- Hand Mixer
Ingredients
Cookie:
- 1 tube refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough
Cream Cheese Filling
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
Fudge brownie box mix (and ingredients)
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 Tablespoons water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Prepare a jumbo muffin pan with baking spray or by using a paper towel to grease with oil, butter, or shortening. Set aside.
- In a small mixing bowl add the cream cheese and blend with a hand mixer until smooth.
- Add the sugar and egg. Beat again until the mixture is combined. Set aside.
- In a larger bowl, mix together the brownie box mix. Add the brownie mix, eggs, oil and water all at once. Mix together with a spoon or whisk until combined and smooth. Set aside.
- Take the refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough and squeeze about ¼ cup into each container in the pan. Use your fingers to press and mold the cookie dough to cover each well in the pan. Add more if needed.
- Now take the cream cheese mixture and add about 3 tablespoons of cream cheese into each cookie dough well.
- Pour brownie batter into each well, on top of the cream cheese filling. Fill each cup all the way to the top.
- Bake these in the oven for 30-45 minutes or until the brownies are done. Use a toothpick to check for doneness.
- Remove from the oven and let cool.
- Flip over onto a rack or serving platter. Gently tap the bottom of the muffin pan to help release the brookie cheesecake cups.
- Top with your desired toppings such as ice cream, chocolate syrup and anything else you desire.
Notes
Adapting the Recipe
In addition to being super easy to make, this recipe for brookie cheesecake cups is also adaptable. I’ve already mentioned that you can adjust the recipe to make smaller brookie cups if you want. If you don’t have a muffin tin and you still want to make this recipe, you could turn them into brookie bars.
To make brookie cheesecake bars, you could follow the same steps but use a 9″x13″ pan. Flatten chocolate chip cookie dough on the bottom, and then layer with cheesecake mixture. Top it all off with a brownie layer and bake until set. This is another quick and easy way to make brookies, and you can cut them into squares big or small.
I love that you can also adapt this brookie cheesecake cups recipe by switching up the flavors. Add extra toppings or more fillings. For instance, chocolate chips would make a great addition to these brownie cookie cups. You could place the chocolate chips on top of the brownies or put them in the middle along with the cheesecake layer. The cheesecake filling is a very simple recipe with cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract. You can add sour cream, or other extracts if you want to change the flavor profile a bit.
You could also adjust this recipe by swapping out the cheesecake mixture for something else. How about placing a mini Reese’s peanut butter cup in the center of the cup between the cookie dough and brownie layers. Yum!
I also think it’s fun to make brownie cups. It’s not as easy to make an indent and get the brownie batter to go up the sides like you can with the thicker cookie dough. However, it’s OK to turn it into layers with a brownie base, cheesecake layer, then cookie dough. This is where putting extra chocolate chips on top of the cookie dough would make it extra gooey and chocolatey on top.
And lastly, play around with the type of cookie dough you use. There’s no rule that says that a brookie has to be made with chocolate chip cookies. I mean a sugar cookie, or peanut butter cookie would also be great flavors for the cookie dough layer.
When you’re looking for an easy dessert that you can pull together quickly and easily, these brookie cheesecake cups are a great choice. Serve hot with ice cream, hot fudge sauce, and whipped cream to make brookie hot fudge sundaes.
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