Milky Way Cheesecake Brownies are full of cheesecake, chocolate and dripping with ooey-gooey caramel! These are next level brownies!!
My very favorite dessert in the whole entire world is cheesecake. Growing up I used to ask for cheesecake on my birthday in place of regular cake, and my parents usually agreed. I loved those cheesecake samplers that featured 3-4 different types of cheesecakes, and always my favorite one would be the chocolate or caramel flavors. These Milky Way Cheesecake Brownies incorporate all of that and are always a hit!
Over the last few years I’ve become more comfortable baking ‘cheesecake’, and have made everything from 3 Ingredient Fudge to Skinny Key Lime Cheesecake Cupcakes to Sopapilla Cheesecake which is a spin on Mexican cheesecake. I’ve never met a cheesecake I didn’t like, and I am happy to report, it’s not as difficult to make as I always thought.
While making these Milky Way Caramel Cheesecake Brownies, I kept thinking of the delicious melted caramel and chocolate, and the soft brownie crust I opted to make instead of a more plain cheesecake. With a combo of chocolate, caramel, brownies, and cream cheese, how can you go wrong?
TIPS FOR MAKING MILKY WAY CARAMEL CHEESECAKE BROWNIES:
- Make sure these bad boys cool completely before you slice into them.
- I also refrigerated the Milky Way Caramel Cheesecake Brownies before serving, but you could also serve them room temperature.
- You do have to refrigerate them after you are done serving though, because you don’t want the cheese filling sitting out for a long time.
I’ve already unloaded a ton of these Milky Way Caramel Cheesecake Brownies to my friends and neighbors and everyone has raved about how delicious they are. These are seriously one of the best desserts I have ever made and it was so simple.
Things you might need for this recipe:
Like dessert as much as I do?! Checkout these other recipes:
- TWIX Cheesecake Bars with Chocolate and Caramel Drizzle
- Snickers Cheesecake Bars
- Copycat Starbucks Lemon Loaf
- Edible Cookie Dough
- Air Fryer S'mores Dip
- Mini Egg Easter Fudge
- Mint Chocolate Skillet Brownie
- Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Milky Way Cheesecake Brownies are full of cheesecake and dripping with ooey-gooey caramel! These will be a hit at your next party!
- 1 cup butter , melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 4 large eggs
- 2 cups sugar
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 16 oz cream cheese , softened (2 packs)
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups chopped Milky Way Candy Bars
-
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
-
In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer combine melted butter with sugar and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each one. Add the cocoa and mix well. Then add the flour, baking powder and salt and mix until just combined, do not over mix.
-
Set aside one cup of the brownie batter and smooth the rest into a foil lined 9×13 baking dish.
-
With your stand mixer or hand mixer (cleaned off), begin making your cheesecake layer by beating cream cheese and sugar until smooth.
-
Add the vanilla and then the eggs one at a time, beating well after each one.
-
Pour the cream cheese mixture on top of the brownie mixture and using a spatula, smooth it evenly over the brownie batter.
-
Sprinkle the chopped Milky Way Simple Caramel slices evenly over cream cheese layer. They should be close together and pretty much covering the cream cheese layer.
-
Using the reserved cup of brownie batter, drop spoonfuls over the top of the candy bar layer, scattering around.
-
Use your spatula or a butter knife to gently swirl the batters. This will combine the cream cheese layer and top brownies layer a bit, which covering the candies in batter. This does not need to be perfect.
-
Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares (at least an hour).
Recipe Video
- After my brownies were done baking, I let cool for about 30 minutes, and then I was able to lift them all out of the baking dish with the foil (by grabbing the sides of the foil). This helped to cool more quickly. You can also set the baking dish on a wire rack to cool faster.
- Be sure to refrigerate the brownies when you are done serving.
I like these best served cold so I allow them to cool for an hour on the counter, and then refrigerate another hour before serving. It's up to you! - Some people have noted that it took much longer for their brownies to cook. I would check them at the 45 minute mark, and then every 5 minutes after that if they don't seem done. I have made them several times and the 45 minutes is always perfect for mine, but people have noted it taking up to an hour for them. So just check them as they are cooking.
Originally published in 2014, updated in 2021.
Erin @ DIY on the Cheap says
Yummo! These look awesome.
Jennifer Brazil says
Oh I have to make these! There goes my diet but I can't help it! These look too good!
Christine Luken says
Both hubby and I LOVE caramel! I'm definitely making these!
Robin (Masshole Mommy) says
Yes please. I would totally eat the entire batch, though, if I made these. They sound amazing,
Jen V says
Yummy! Your pictures are making me hungry. I definitely will have to make these some time.
Dayna says
Well, I'm a moron and didnt read the "simply caramel" milky ways so I used regular milky ways.....Lets see how they turn out! They look amazing!
Allyson says
I am sure they will still be tasty but not so caramel-y. Let me know!
Lesa says
I did the same. Bought regular milky ways to make. How did it turn out with them? Do you think the caramel would turn out better.
Allyson says
It will just have more caramel with the caramel milky ways. you can really chop up any candy bar for this recipe 🙂 Could also throw in some chopped caramello for more caramel.
Rebekah says
OMFG YES PLEASE!! Those look so good. I'm drooling over here.
Helene Bludman says
Oh my, do these look decadent. Pinning for a special occasion!
Lois Alter Mark says
OMG! just OMG!
Stacey @ Glamour-Zine says
My sister would LOVE these! I am going to make them for her - YUM!
brett says
oh my goodness. that looks so gooey and delicious!
adashofsanity says
These look amazing! And I so will be making them! Thanks for sharing!
Victoria says
This looks like it tastes super good.
Pam W says
This looks really tasty! I love cheesecake and brownies so they're the perfect combo, even better with caramel milky ways!
Jessica @Bkeepsushonest says
Oh my goodness I seriously need some of this right now. I will be making this very soon.
Debbie L. says
Oh this looks so amazing! Looks like it would melt in your mouth!
Shannon says
These look AMAZING! I'm making them after Easter, because I gave up sweets for lent. This is my favorite milky way candy bars! Win-Win.
Shannon ~ bohemianjunktion.com
Lexie Lane says
Oh! Now I've got such a horrible sweet tooth! I am such a cheesecake and sweet anything fan! This looks really really really really good! Taking the recipe!
Wendy Flynn Del Monte says
I think I gained 5 pounds just looking at these. I want one.
Amy Desrosiers says
These look so good that even I want to eat them, and Im not even big on chocolate!!
Elizabeth Towns says
Yes God, please! You just blessed my life with this post. I am not even eating sweets or sugar, but I will make these just to be a blessing to someone else. I LOVE this! Amazing.
themissingniche says
You are killing me! Milky Way is my favorite candy! Must. Try. These!
Mama to 5 Blessings says
oh my goodness, that looks scrumptious! Nice sweet savory caramel - yummy!
Lisa Jones says
Wow Who Would Of Thought & I LOVE Milky Way!!
Janeane Davis says
Mmmmmm, these look so delicious. This just proves it, you can improve almost anything!
wendy @ ABCs and Garden Peas says
Ok, now THAT looks like something I'd like to hide in the bathroom with! That's usually the only place I can eat in peace (but I don't, because EW.)
Maybe in my closet? 🙂
Danielle @ We Have It All says
OhMYgosh that looks amazing - I'm so glad you shared this!! I HAVE TO try making this!
Debbie Denny says
I love Milky Way and these look fantastic!
freebiesteramy says
Only one thing came out of my mouth amazing and so tempting .I am seriously trying to loose weight.
mamaknowsitall says
Wow! These look delicious! Thanks for writing a simple recipe that even us non-awesome foodies like you can try to recreate! I'll let you know how it goes! Brandi from Collective Bias
Amy says
Oh wow. I think I gained 5 lbs just looking at the pictures. I'm afraid to make these...I'm pretty sure I'd eat the entire pan myself!
#client
MamaLuvsBooks says
WOW! Those look amazing! Pinning! #client
Alicia Kirby (@themamareport) says
Oh my gosh, those look so amazing! Yum! #client
Mossie Fultz says
Can't wait to try these.
Eva says
I made these the other night, but since I'm gluten free, I used a boxed gluten free brownie mix instead of making the brownie from scratch and it turned out delicious! My only problem was not eating the milky way simply caramels up before I got to the part where i had to add them to the brownies!
Allyson says
I am really happy to know that they turned out great using GF mix! I know a lot of my readers are GF, so this is definitely helpful! Thanks so much for sharing!
ashleigh says
Does the cheesecake part supposed to be wobbly still? Does that settle in fridge?
Allyson says
It will firm up in the fridge, but should only be slightly wobbly, maybe in the middle. The rest should be pretty 'set' and not jiggling around!
Wendy Solomonson says
The bars were a huge hit at our neighborhood party yesterday. I accidentally bought the regular Milky Way bites instead of the caramel bites and they worked just fine in this recipe although not as caramelly I'm sure. Try this recipe you will not be disappointed!!
Allyson says
Yay! I am so happy y'all like them! I really think you can exchange any chocolate candy it they will be just as tasty! I Have some them with Twix and Snickers bites and they are SO good!
April says
I'm still fairly new at baking if someone could reply asap because I'm actually going to be baking these in a week my question is the brownie mix from a brownie box and is it the dry mix or do we follow the brownie mix and then add it to the recipe?
Allyson says
Hi - I am confused by your question...do you want to use boxed brownies in place of the homemade brownies in the recipe? If you use box brownies, then follow the directions on the box of brownies and OMIT the 'brownie layer' ingredients in the directions. You will make the cheesecake layer and then follow the directions from there. You might need 2 boxes of brownies to make these though, because I think the homemade recipe yields a larger serving of brownies. Or, you could use one box and then use a smaller baking dish.
Teena says
where is the recipe? can't find it!!!!
Beverly says
I just took these out of the oven,cannot wait for them to cool,they smell delicious !!!!
Allyson says
I hope you enjoy them!!
AmieJo says
These look sooooo tasty.
jessbures says
OMG I have died and went to milky way heaven! These look amazing and I cannot wait to try them! If you ever need a new link up party..stop by my blog 🙂 I would love to have you and your awesome recipes!
Have a great night!
Jess
nancy says
Tried these. cooked for 35 minutes and cooled. but wasn't cooked are you suppost to cook the brownie layer separate. we so looked forward to these
Allyson says
Oh no, Nancy! I am not sure what happened 🙁 You cook it all together, so I probably would have just advised to cook a little bit longer. Where wasn't it cooked through? The bottom layer?
cheryl ison says
I had the same problem. Mine weren't even close to being done at 35 minutes. I had to cook them for over an hour.
Allyson says
Thanks for letting me know. I have made a note in the instructions in case anyone else runs into the same issue. Hope you enjoyed them!
Nicola - Pink Recipe Box says
You've combined all my favourite ingredients into one dessert bar here! Pinning!
jessbures says
OMG thank you for coming over and linking these gems up! Between this and the cheesecake twix I am in heaven lol! I cannot wait to try these, the ingreds will be in my shopping cart on my next trip to the store! My hubby who doesnt even like sweets cant wait to try it! Pinned and pinned! Party starts tonight at 10, hope you make it back to share more goodies with us!
Totally Terrific Tuesday Link Party
Jess
Allyson says
Thanks, girl!!!
Bonnie @ The Pin Junkie says
These caramel cheesecake brownies look AMAZING! Thanks for sharing them last week at The Pin Junkie pin party. They are one of this week's features at http://www.thepinjunkie.com/2014/11/pin-junkie-pin-party-93.html
Allyson says
Yay!! Thank you!
Marcy Knopf (day2day SuperMom) says
Oh my gosh. I love you. Thank you for making these. And sharing them! Already Pin'd =)
Allyson says
You're welcome! I hope you try them out - they are delicious!
Angela says
I have boxed brownie mix on hand could I use that instead of making the brownie by scratch and then just follow the rest of the instructions ?
Allyson says
I think that would work out fine! Let me know how they turn out, but I am 99% sure it should be great!
Angela LaLa Hill says
Awesome!! I'll try it and let you know plus the milky ways were on sale it must be fate 🙂 they are for a holiday pot luck on Friday
Kayla Garza says
I also had to cook them longer than the 35 minutes. I guess it just depends on how fast your oven cooks food! Cant wait to eat them! the house smells great!
Allyson says
I am going to make a note about this in the directions! I think my oven may be hotter than normal, it kind of annoys me! How did they turn out?
melinda says
Great recipe. I used cherry ripes devine
Kat says
Mine had to cook a little over an hour as well. I took them to a church potluck. I had only like, a sample when I made them... literally a bite, and it was an edge, but what I tasted was good. I felt it needed a bit of something though, so I drizzled/poured a homemade caramel sauce all over the top and sprinkled some mini chocolate chips for some crunch. I think some chopped nuts like maybe cashews would be really good too maybe instead of chips. Anyway, I still haven't had a finished piece, but I had no leftovers from the tray I took, and several people found me and raved about them, so they must be really good! ^_^
Cynthia Sigman says
What size pan did you use?
Allyson says
7x11
Wendy says
Are you saying 2 16oz. bars of cream cheese or 2 8oz. bars?
Allyson says
It is 2 Eight Ounce packages of cream cheese as stated! Enjoy!
sonya says
what a creative idea! all of your cheesecake bars also look amazing!
Sam says
Hi Allyson,
This looks amazing, but where is the actual recipe. I know I must be overlooking it.
Allyson says
So weird, thank you for calling this to my attention. The thing I use for recipes to display is down I guess. I have put the recipe into the post, so you should see it now. Thanks!
Allyson says
Hi again, I am not sure what's going on but it looks like it's STILL not showing up!!! UGh! Here is the recipe:
Milky Way Caramel Cheesecake Brownies
Ingredients:
Brownie Layer
1 cup butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Cheesecake Layer
16 oz cream cheese, softened (2 packs)
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups chopped Milky Way Simply Caramel Bites (1 large bag)
Instructions
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
1. In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer combine melted butter with sugar and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each one. Add the cocoa and mix well. Then add the flour, baking powder and salt and mix until just combined, do not over mix.
2. Set aside one cup of the brownie batter and smooth the rest into a foil lined 9×13 baking dish.
Now for our next layer...
3. With your stand mixer or hand mixer (cleaned off), begin making your cheesecake layer by beating cream cheese and sugar until smooth.
4. Add the vanilla and then the eggs one at a time, beating well after each one.
5. Pour the cream cheese mixture on top of the brownie mixture and using a spatula, smooth it evenly over the brownie batter.
6. Sprinkle the chopped Milky Way Simple Caramel slices evenly over cream cheese layer. They should be close together and pretty much covering the cream cheese layer.
7. Using the reserved cup of brownie batter, drop spoonfuls over the top of the candy bar layer, scattering around.
8. Use your spatula or a butter knife to gently swirl the batters. This will combine the cream cheese layer and top brownies layer a bit, which covering the candies in batter. This does not need to be perfect.
9. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes. Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares (at least an hour).
Notes
After my brownies were done baking, I let cool for about 30 minutes, and then I was able to lift them all out of the baking dish with the foil (by grabbing the sides of the foil). This helped to cool more quickly. You can also set the baking dish on a wire rack to cool faster.
Be sure to refrigerate the brownies when you are done serving.
I like these best served cold so I allow them to cool for an hour on the counter, and then refrigerate another hour before serving. It's up to you!
**Some people have noted that it took much longer for their brownies to cook. I would check them at the 35 minute mark, and then every 5 minutes after that if they don't seem done. I have made them several times and the 35 minutes is always perfect for mine, but people have noted it taking up to an hour for them. So just check them as they are cooking.
Samantha Whitson says
Okay Ms. Allyson, you have seriously done it RIGHT with these brownies! I have thought about adding candy bars to my brownies many times, but was always nervous about turning the pan into a runny mess. The idea of wasting a whole batch of brownie goodness scared me off-I now feel like such a wimp. Thank you for reminding me that it is always worth taking the risk...especially this time! As a side note, I used chopped king size candy bars, that I partially froze first, because my husband came home from the store with fifteen of them he found on clearance- for .39 cents each! I also lightly dusted the chopped pieces with flour before adding them in, in case the extra "open edges" melted out too soon. I hope that makes sense. They came out to be the single best brownie I have EVER made or eaten-well done!! I will now be checking out the rest of your recipes and feeling oh so blessed to find your sight....thank you kind woman:)
Allyson says
Samantha,
Your comment put a HUGE smile on my face on a day that was not going so well - THANK YOU! These Brownies are seroiusly THE BEST EVER and that is an amazing price your husband found (love that clearance section)!!! I have a couple other candy brownie recipes too, check them out! And if you like 'real food' I have tons of recipes for that too. Thank you for stopping by and thank you for leaving your sweet comment!
xo,
Allyson
The Windmills of Our Minds says
I made these last night, and though they were good, I prefer a fudgier, gooier brownie. The recipe was too cakey. If I were to make it again, I'd use fewer eggs to get the consistency that we prefer right. It was a fun experiment!
Ashley
Allyson says
Good tips! I agree, for a fudgier brownie I would use one egg! Happy y'all liked them, thouh 🙂
maria says
Can you please elaborate on making it "fudgier"? you would use 1 egg instead of 2 in the cheesecake layer? The brownie layer is calling for 4 eggs...
Becky says
HI I found your recipe on Pinterest. I am doing a Round Up blog post later in March for National Chocolate Caramel Day (the 19th) and am interested in including this recipe in that round up. I would like to use a picture from the post, with links back to your site/this post. I would promote it on my all my social media platforms and would share the link with you so that you could do the same if you wish. If you are not interested, I understand, I will not use your post/images without your permission.
Thank you for your time.
Allyson says
That is totally fine! Thanks for asking and I can't wait to see it!
Lisa Toler says
These brownies are AhhhhhhMazing!!!! I added pecans to the caramel bites layer...yum, yum, yum and I served with vanilla ice cream....absolutely heavenly!!! I also cooked them for just under an hour in a 9x13 pan.
They were such a hit with the teenagers hanging out at my house last night that I decided to make a another batch for a church get together tonight. What a hit!!! Will definitely make these again and again.
Thank you for helping me score some major brownie points with this recipe.....Hahahaha!!
Allyson says
Dang girl, those sound like awesome additions! I will have to try that. I am so happy you liked them, they are really our go to brownies too...for everything...'oh, you hurt your toe? BROWNIES!' LOL! Thanks for coming by to let me know!
Kimberly Farris says
There were delicious and so so so so easy to make. They did take a bit longer than 35 minutes. I substituted the milky way candies with a few chocolate chips and swirled in homemade caramel sauce--AMAZING
Allyson says
Yay! So happy you loved them! I wish I was having them this weekend - yum!
Em says
Could you add some info about how you tell that they're done? I baked mine for 55 minutes - at that point, a knife came out with just some cheesecake and caramel on it so I thought they must finally be done. But then I cut into them after they cooled and they were definitely still on the underdone side. They held together but were still kind of wet.
I was far too lazy to cut up a bunch of Milky Way pieces so I just used some Kraft Caramel Bites that I had on hand. (They're unwrapped caramel balls, typically found near the chocolate chips.) I only wish I'd had a full bag! But they were still tasty.
Lou says
Salted or unsalted butter???
Allyson says
It doesn't matter much, but I typically use unsalted!
Beth K. says
This is a marriage made in heaven. I love cheesecake, brownies, and Milky Way! YUM!!!
S. says
I tried making these yesterday and was slightly disappointed as my cheesecake layer settled on the bottom as it was cooking. Not sure what caused it to do so because I followed the recipe exactly except I used regular milky way in stead of the simply caramel milky ways. However they still tasted delicious even though the cheesecake was the bottom and brownie on top.
Allyson says
Oh wow! Well, it still sounds delicious and it sounds like it tasted delicious too! I haven't run into that issue, but could have just been the way it was mixed/spread/etc. Glad you liked the brownies!
Edita says
Wow! This brownie look's amazing!
April says
OMG these were absolutely heavenly. My mouth is watering just thinking about them.
Amanda says
This looks so decadent and delicious! I am beyond excited to try these out. Thank you!
Beth says
This might be the perfect dessert recipe. All of these flavors meld together so perfectly. I can't wait to make it!
Kim says
I could roll in these brownies! So dang delicious!
Erin says
These brownies are on my must-make list!
Natalie says
These brownies are perfection!! Thick & gooey, they are delicious!! I want to add milky ways in all my brownies!
Vikki says
So chewy and delicious and soft, I love love love these brownies!
Dawn says
Could I use a different chocolate and caramel candy? Like Ghirardelli chocolate caramel squares?
Thanks in advance for a response. I love,love,love your recipes! Keep cooking.
Allyson says
Yes absolutely! You can really use any candy!
Catalina says
Oh my goodness! I am drooling over these brownies! Love it so much!
Sandra says
This was really good! My family was so impressed with these brownies!
Rita says
Is the flour All Purpose or Self Rising?
Allyson says
all purpose!
Caroline says
Do you mean unsweetened cocoa powder?
Allyson says
Yes!
Jodi Hildebrand says
These Milky Way bites don’t seem to be available anymore. Any recommendations on what to use in the absence? Will regular Milky Way bars be adequate? Thanks!!
Allyson says
Yes, just use milky way's and chop them up! It's literally the same thing just a different size! Thanks for letting me know so I can edit this recipe.