Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies

• Brownie batter
• ½ cup unsalted butter, 1 stick (113 g)
  Swaps for unsalted butter

  Instead of butter

  • Salted butter: The same amount, with about ¼ tsp less salt per stick (½ cup) elsewhere in the recipe. Nothing noticeable once you cut the salt.
  • Plant-based butter sticks: The same amount. The closest swap.
  • Refined coconut oil: The same amount: solid when the butter is soft or cold, melted when it is melted. It is all fat, so bakes are a bit more tender and rich, with no butter flavor.

  All 4 swaps for butter

  Cooking for an allergy? Check every label.

• 4 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped (113 g)
  Swaps for semisweet chocolate

  Instead of chocolate and chocolate chips

  • Semisweet and bittersweet: The same amount, either way. Bittersweet is less sweet and more intense; semisweet is milder and sweeter.
  • Chopped bar chocolate for chips: The same weight (a 12 oz bag of chips is about 2 cups). Melty puddles and streaks instead of neat chips.
  • Chips for bar chocolate when melting: The same weight. Chips melt thicker and less smoothly, so ganache and glazes are a bit stiffer.

  All 4 swaps for chocolate and chocolate chips

• ¾ cup granulated sugar, 150 g
  Swaps for granulated sugar

  Instead of sugar

  • Less sugar: Up to ¼ less in cookies, muffins and quick breads. Less browning and spread, a drier, more cake-like texture, and bakes go stale sooner.
  • Brown sugar: The same amount, packed. Moister and chewier, with a caramel flavor and darker color.
  • Coconut sugar: The same amount. Darker and caramel-like, a little less sweet; cookies spread slightly less.

  All 4 swaps for sugar

• ¼ cup brown sugar, packed (53 g)
  Swaps for brown sugar

  Instead of brown sugar

  • White sugar + molasses: 1 cup granulated sugar + 1 tbsp molasses (light) or 2 tbsp (dark). The same as store-bought.
  • White sugar: The same amount. Crisper, paler cookies with less caramel flavor.
  • Light and dark brown sugar: The same amount, either way. Dark brown sugar tastes stronger and makes bakes a bit darker and moister.

  All 4 swaps for brown sugar

• 2 large eggs, room temperature
  Swaps for eggs

  Instead of eggs

  • Flax egg: 1 tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 tbsp water for each egg. Binds well but gives less lift, so bakes are a little denser and flatter, with a mild nutty taste and brown flecks.
  • Chia egg: 1 tbsp chia seeds + 3 tbsp water for each egg. Works like a flax egg: good binding, little lift, slightly denser crumb.
  • Unsweetened applesauce: ¼ cup for each egg. Moister and denser, with a soft, slightly gummy crumb if you swap more than one egg.

  All 5 swaps for eggs

  Cooking for an allergy? Check every label.

• 1 tsp vanilla extract
  Swaps for vanilla extract

  Instead of vanilla extract

  • Vanilla bean paste: The same amount. Stronger, with visible vanilla seeds.
  • Vanilla bean: The seeds of 1 bean for each 1 tbsp extract. A deeper, floral flavor and visible seeds.
  • Alcohol-free vanilla: The same amount. Made with glycerin; a slightly milder taste.

  All 5 swaps for vanilla extract

• ¼ tsp kosher salt
  Swaps for kosher salt

  Instead of salt

  • Table salt or fine sea salt: About half as much as Diamond Crystal kosher, about ¾ as much as Morton kosher. The same saltiness when measured this way.
  • Salt by weight: 1 tsp is about 6 grams of table salt, 5 grams of Morton kosher, 3 grams of Diamond Crystal kosher. The most reliable way to swap, especially in baking and brines.

  More for salt

• 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
  Swaps for unsweetened cocoa powder

  Instead of cocoa powder

  • Natural and Dutch-process cocoa: The same amount. Swap freely when the recipe uses baking powder.
  • Unsweetened chocolate: 1 oz melted unsweetened chocolate for each 3 tbsp cocoa; cut the butter or oil by 1 tbsp. Fudgier and richer.
  • Carob powder: The same amount. Caffeine-free and naturally sweet, but it tastes like carob, not chocolate.

  More for cocoa powder

• ½ cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled (63 g)
  Swaps for all-purpose flour

  Instead of all-purpose flour

  • Gluten-free 1:1 baking flour: The same amount, a blend that includes xanthan gum. A little grittier and more crumbly, browns faster and dries out sooner.
  • Bread flour: The same amount. More gluten: chewier cookies and bread, tougher cakes.
  • Whole wheat flour: Up to half of the flour. Nuttier, darker and denser.

  All 4 swaps for all-purpose flour

  Cooking for an allergy? Check every label.

• Cheesecake swirl
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened (1 block, 226 g)
  Swaps for cream cheese

  Instead of cream cheese

  • Neufchâtel: The same amount. Lower in fat and a little softer.
  • Mascarpone: The same amount. Richer, milder and softer, with less tang.
  • Ricotta or cottage cheese, blended: The same amount, blended smooth. Lighter and a little grainy; not firm enough for cheesecake or frosting.

  All 4 swaps for cream cheese

• ¼ cup granulated sugar, 50 g
  Swaps for granulated sugar

  Instead of sugar

  • Less sugar: Up to ¼ less in cookies, muffins and quick breads. Less browning and spread, a drier, more cake-like texture, and bakes go stale sooner.
  • Brown sugar: The same amount, packed. Moister and chewier, with a caramel flavor and darker color.
  • Coconut sugar: The same amount. Darker and caramel-like, a little less sweet; cookies spread slightly less.

  All 4 swaps for sugar

• 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
  Swaps for vanilla extract

  Instead of vanilla extract

  • Vanilla bean paste: The same amount. Stronger, with visible vanilla seeds.
  • Vanilla bean: The seeds of 1 bean for each 1 tbsp extract. A deeper, floral flavor and visible seeds.
  • Alcohol-free vanilla: The same amount. Made with glycerin; a slightly milder taste.

  All 5 swaps for vanilla extract

Weights from USDA FoodData Central cup weights. Counted things (eggs, cloves, cans) stay as counts, and salt stays in spoons: kosher and flaky salts weigh very differently by brand.

Different pan? Written for 8x8-inch square; rescale the amounts for an 8x8, 9x13, round, loaf or sheet pan.

Cooking for a crowd? Pans, timing and salt for 12 to 50.

Missing something? Tap Swaps next to an ingredient, or see all substitutions.