Coconut Cream Cheese Brownies
This recipe was originally posted in July 2011- it has been reworked/rephotographed and posted again because it was fabulous but desperately needed it!
No matter how many times I think I’ve baked up the “perfect brownie” recipe, I will always get giddy about trying something new. Man do I love a classic fudgy brownie, but I’m also such a sucker for fillings, flavors and swirls galore. I made this recipe several years ago and it needed some serious re-working so here it is.
Dark chocolate brownie layers sandwich a creamy coconut cheesecake center. These have an awesome texture- the dark chocolate brownie is moist and a little cake-like with the coconut filling really tying it all together. I can’t think of a better recipe for someone who loves chocolate and coconut as much as I do. (It kinda has a “Mounds” thing going on!)
I used coconut oil in the brownie batter which as you can imagine just takes the whole flavor up a notch. You can use whatever vegetable oil you have, but I love the subtle flavor that coconut oil adds. Serve these cold (or even frozen!) for a delicious treat for cold weather. Enjoy!
Coconut Cream Cheese Brownies
Ingredients
For the Brownies:
- 1/2 cup coconut oil-melted
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
For the Coconut Filling:
- 1 8oz package cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup shredded coconut*
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8×8 baking pan- set aside.
For the filling:
- In a medium sized bowl combine the softened cream cheese, 1/4 cup of sugar, egg yolk, vanilla and coconut. Mix together using an electric mixer until well combined. Set aside and make the brownie batter.
For the Brownie Batter:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, sugar, and vanilla. Beat in the eggs.
- Stir together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; gradually stir into the egg mixture until smooth and just combined.
- Spread about half of the brownie batter into the bottom of your prepared pan. Use a spoon to dollop the coconut filling evenly across the pan then use an offset spatula to gently spread it into an even later. Spread the remaining brownie batter over the top.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan comes out clean. Cool completely before removing from pan and cutting into squares.
Notes
*I used sweetened coconut, if you use unsweetened, I'd add a little more sugar.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 16 Serving Size: 1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g
These look fab — I absolutely love a good cream cheese icing/filling. Mixed with coconut I bet it was divine! Your lucky classmates :)
I hope you are doing better this week and feeling positive!
Two layers are always better than one! Great choice of the other layer-coconut cream cheese, no doubt they taste fantastic. Simply delicious. Thanks for sharing.
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Wow these look and sound amazing, coconut is my favourite flavour ever – I’m sooo making these!
Cool! What a unique way to use coconut oil. Thanks for posting this :-)
I love coconut oil and it’s wonderful as a way to intensify the coconut flavour of baked goods. This recipe looks so good, I’ve buzzed and saved it!
Cream cheese brownies sound so good and I can imagine that the coconut kicks it up even more, sounds so wonderful!
I felt the same way once I opened up my Kelapo coconut oil. This recipe is wonderful and as I am huge coconut fan I imagine that those brownies heavenly!! Nicely done!!!
forgot to add (LOL!) “taste heavenly” :))
Lucky acting class! These brownies sound heavenly :) Buzzed!
Yum Yum and Yum these look amazing.
these sound delicious!! I love chocolate and coconut together!
I almost cried from sheer pleasure over seeing this. Bookmarking for a cool day.
I love coconut. These sound amazing! I want to take a big bite out of that picture. I just started using coconut oil and I am a big fan.
I really need to get my hands on some coconut oil and make these
I have a jar of freshly made coconut oil in my pantry that is begging to be a part of these brownies!
I don’t like coconut in desserts, but even I want one of those! Especially with all those rave reviews… Thanks for sharing!
Oh yum! I love brownies – I am up for trying the best brownie ever!
These look fabulous!
You have a really nice blog! And i loove those brownies! Chocolate and coconut get on well together =)
Holy moly–yes please! Coconut and chocolate are two of my favorite things! I love your blog, by the way!
These look amazing. I love coconut and chocolate and my family adores brownies so this is a definite try!!
REALLY GREAT recipe, I followed it exact and it was delicious. Only problem I found is that they were eaten too fast;o) The should be called Houdini Brownies!
I cannot seem to get enough coconut these days. I’d love one of these right now!
He hecho brownies pero con coco es diferente, gracias
I so want to make these! Two questions – if I am using the solidified coconut oil, should it be heated up/melted first before adding to mixture? And did you use sweetened coconut? I have unsweetened and think that would work well too.
I have exactly the same 2 questions
Good questions- I will answer here but also clarify in the recipe! MY kitchen was warm when I made these, so my coconut oil was already liquid. I’d melt it beforehand if not.
I used sweetened coconut- I’d add some extra sugar to the cream cheese mixture if you use unsweetened :)
These look beyond amazing! I’m obsessed with Mounds/Almond Joy bars and I love the coconut cream cheese filling :) Pinning!
Can’t go wrong with this combo. This is perfect.- can’t wait to try it!
I love Mounds so I’m sure I will love these brownies too! Love you added coconut in the cream cheese layer and in the brownie layer. Looks so decadent!
I’m a CCC – constant coconut craver – so I pretty much think I need these IMMEDIATELY.
So craving a few of these right now. I love that you used coconut oil in them – sounds so delicious!
I made these last night and haven’t actually tasted them yet. The only problem I had was the brownie batter was very thick and hard to spread over the filling. Mine came out a little “swirlier” than yours. Any tips?
The only thing I can think that would help is to really dollop it evenly over the coconut mixture and then gently spread it with the back of a spoon or an off-set spatula. That worked well for me! :)
I love your recipe my dear. And its result was surprisingly amazing!! This is my very first coconut brownies baking. It wasn’t supposed to be that fantastic. Sorry, i’m so excited. I really want to hug you and say thank you. Turning a recipe into a “real thing” means the world to me. I love you! And my boyfriend say thank you to you too.