Rum Spiked Red Velvet Swirl Brownies

Last year one of the most popular posts was for the decadently delicious Boozy Brownies with Salted Caramel Rum Sauce! Since then I’ve been trying to think of a way to top them and I realized.. I can’t! They’re just TOO good! Instead I’m giving you guys a variation of the original with these Rum Spiked Red Velvet Swirl Brownies! Spiked with a healthy dose of rum and a cream cheese swirl, these will make the perfect Valentines Day treat for your loved ones or coworkers. And hey.. there’s no judgement here if you decide to just devour the whole pan yourself!

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Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

4oz (1 bar) semi-sweet baking chocolate

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 cups sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 (1oz) bottle of red food coloring

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup Sailor Jerry Rum

For cream cheese swirl:

4oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup sugar

2 egg whites

1 tsp Sailor Jerry Rum

2 Tbs all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 degrees C) and butter a 13 by 9 inch baking pan.

(1.) Place butter and semi-sweet chocolate in a medium sized saucepan and heat on low. (2.) Stir every few minutes until completely melted and smooth. (3.) Remove from heat and stir in cocoa powder, sugar, salt, red food coloring, and vanilla. Beat in eggs one at a time until completely mixed in. (4.) Stir in flour and then rum until completely mixed.

(5.) Using a rubber spatula, scrape batter into prepared baking dish. (6.) In a medium sized bowl, beat together cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer until completely combined. Add in egg whites and rum and mix until combined. Stir in flour. (7.) Pour mix over the top of the brownie batter and use a spoon or knife to swirl around and mix. (8.) Place in the oven to bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Place on a cooling rack to cool for 1-2 hours. Cut into squares and serve right away or make them the night before, cover, and refrigerate until ready to serve.