Soft, chewy and totally rich, these Red Velvet Brownies with Cream Cheese Frosting are delightful! Super simple to make and easy to decorate for the upcoming Valentine’s Day holiday!
I love recipes that can be made holiday-ish or made for everyday consumption.
In the past, I was all about completely unique desserts using seasonal ingredients like Cadbury eggs or the flavor-of-the-moment Oreos. But I realize not everyone has access to those ingredients, which renders basically the whole recipe useless.
So now, I love making what we bloggers call “evergreen content.” This basically means it’s content that never really goes out of style year after year, or even within the seasons. And these Red Velvet Brownies most certainly fit that bill!
These guys have been the bane of my existence, to be frank. I have made like three or four batches of them before finally liking this recipe best. The first one was totally my fault – I goofed and added like 3/4 cup of cocoa powder to the batter, yielding a, well, brownie. No red in sight. The next batch, I added less cocoa but still too much for a red velvet color. And the third one I underbaked, because I still do that, people.
Finally, fourth time being the charm, I nailed it. And I think you’ll agree!
These are so soft, chewy and moist and flavored with all that red velvet goodness. They have just a touch of cocoa powder to give it that oomph without it being a full-on chocolate brownie. And of course, the red color is GORGEOUS! Perfect for Valentine’s Day, Christmas… or a random Thursday 🙂
But because I can’t leave anything be, I added a cream cheese frosting. (Because duh). It is so creamy, dreamy and smooth and totally drives home the red velvet flavor in these bars.
Mouth, prepare to be amazed.
*adapted from my blondie recipe
- FOR THE BROWNIES:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, cubed
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ounce (one bottle) red food coloring
- FOR CREAM CHEESE ICING:
- 2 Tbsp butter, softened
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 & ½ cups powdered sugar
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Liberally grease a 9x13" rectangular baking pan with cooking spray; set aside.
- In a large saucepan, heat the butter over medium-low heat until melted. Let cool for 5 minutes, then whisk in the brown sugar until combined. Quickly whisk in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla, cocoa powder, baking soda, flour and red food coloring until a soft batter comes together. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out the top.
- Bake for approx. 22-27 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean or with moist, not wet, crumbs. Cool completely.
- To make the frosting: Beat together the butter, cream cheese and vanilla with an electric mixer until creamy, about 1 minute. Beat in the powdered sugar until frosting is spreadable and light.
- Spread the frosting onto the cooled brownies in an even layer. If using, top with sprinkles. Refrigerate covered for at least 2 hours to set.
I hope you love the Red Velvet Brownies as much as I did! They went FAST in my house!
Have a super sweet day!
xo, Hayley
Hi! I wanted to know how big is the pan you used for those brownies? I think they are delicious treat for Valentines day too! Can’t wait to make them!
Hi Paula! A 9×13″ rectangular pan!
Yes, yes, yes please.
I’m surprised there’s no vinegar or buttermilk for the distinctive tang? Also, it’s unusual to use 2 whole cups of brown sugar, none of it white — doesn’t that end up just being/tasting like a Blondie with 1T. of cocoa?
Actually, forgive me by the way of jumping in the headstrong path of the domesticrebel, but it is the NATURE of Brown versus White sugar that results in the CHEWY aspect more pronounced than the CRISPY other sibling. By utilizing this as well as Baking SODA versus POWDER it is a chewier result. The other final “chewy-izing” trick is you can delete ONE (1) egg white from the two eggs, making it one egg and one egg YOLK, as it is the egg white’s call to arms to dry out the baking product a smidge, thus…crispier. So, again, forgive my hijacking your thread, I love your work on the domestichomefront!
Scott, thank you! I appreciate it!
Which type of red food coloring did you use, gel food coloring or liquid food coloring? Does the type of food coloring you use effect how the brownies turn out?
Hi Litzy! I used the liquid food coloring by McCormick. It comes in its own box of just a vial of red food coloring 🙂 If you have those little four-packs of food coloring, you may need 2-3 of the smaller vials of red to achieve this color. Hope this helps!
I just made these brownies and they taste great. One word of warning though — do NOT use vanilla in the frosting or else it will turn tan instead of remaining white. I had dye the frosting pink to correct the color.
Jean – oh no! You could always use a clear vanilla if you want a pure white, but I like the slight off-colored white 🙂