Start by preheating your oven to 350°F (175°C). Then, grease an 8x8-inch baking pan or line it with parchment paper.

A little butter, a little parchment, either works, just don’t skip it unless you’re into cleaning up a mess.

In a bowl, whisk together your melted butter and sugar until it’s nice and smooth. Add in the eggs and vanilla extract, and whisk again.

Now, sift the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder, and salt into the mix. Stir everything together until it's just combined. Don’t overmix, this is the key to a fudgy texture, so be gentle.

If you’re like me, you’re probably already imagining those melty, gooey chocolate chips in your brownies.

So, fold them into the brownie batter. Yep, just mix them in, but don’t go overboard here.

You want them evenly spread, but don’t make it a mission to make it perfect. The beauty of brownies is in the randomness.

In a separate bowl, mix together the softened cream cheese and powdered sugar. Beat until it’s smooth and creamy. You should be able to spoon this on top of the brownie batter without it running everywhere.

Pour the brownie batter into your prepared pan and spread it out evenly. Now, dollop spoonfuls of the cream cheese mixture all over the top.

Don’t worry about being too neat with it; part of the fun is the swirled effect.

Grab a butter knife or a toothpick, and gently swirl the cream cheese mixture into the brownie batter. It should look like a beautiful marble pattern.

Put the pan into the oven and bake for about 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean (a little fudgy batter on the toothpick is what you want).

Let them cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Or, if you're feeling impatient, enjoy after they’ve cooled for a couple of minutes, you do you.