Semi-homemade Cheesecake Brownies

I had some left over cream cheese from a recipe and needed to make a dessert. After trying to convince Jarrod that another batch of Gooey Butter Cake would be fantastic, he urged me to make something else... We settled on Cheesecake Brownies. I searched for a recipe that utilized a box mix because I've not been brave enough to make gluten-free brownies from scratch (yet).

After googling and pinteresting, I found very little. I decided to improvise and make something up. I give you...

Semi-homemade Cheesecake Brownies
 
Boxed brownie mix and ingredients to prepare the mix (We used Betty Crocker Gluten Free and it was fantastic)
8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup of powdered sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (I know our generic bottle is a sorry excuse for vanilla...but it's cheap!)

Prepare the brownie mix according to the box. Spread in the bottom of a greased 8x8" pan.

Beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar, egg, and vanilla on medium until light and fluffy.

Pour the cream cheese mixture on top of the brownies. You can choose to swirl at this stage or you can leave them layered. I opted to layer this time but will probably swirl next time. Completely personal preference. 

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the brownies are firm.

These were delicious and no one ever has to know I used a box. Desserts like this are perfect if you need a quick dessert and don't have time to make something from scratch. It didn't take that much longer than a regular box of brownies and was absolutely delicious!