Gingerbread Cheesecake Blondies are product of my playing with recipes for Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies and Red Velvet Cheesecake Swirl Brownies. I wanted to create something festive and suitable for Christmas party, but different from what is already well known. So, instead of classic brownies containing cocoa, I made blondies (or blonde brownies) with brown butter and brown sugar. Then I went one step further and added some gingerbread spices. In the end I topped it all with a doubled amount of cheesecake topping. I was very satisfied with the way my new Gingerbread Cheesecake Blondies turned out.
The only thing I did wrong is that I overbaked them. I’m so scared of raw flour that I often do the same mistake and overbake my cakes. In this case it really does matter because blondies, as well as brownies, are better when slightly underbaked and still fudgy.
I really like the taste of browned butter and brown sugar together. This combination creates a deep and rich nutty flavor (to see the instructions on how to make your own brown butter, look at my Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe). If you’re not in the mood for making browned butter, you can use regular butte as well.
- GINGERBREAD BLONDIES:
- 113 g (1/2 cup about 8 Tbsp) unsalted butter, melted or browned
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- a pinch of salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp gingerbread spice (cinnamon ginger, allspice, nutmeg, cloves)
- CHEESECAKE TOPPING:
- 250 g cream cheese room temperature, 8 oz
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
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Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F). Butter and line a 20 x 20 cm (8 x 8 inch) pan.
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BLONDIES LAYER: In a large bowl, combine melted butter with sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Whisk in the eggs. Gently fold in the flour and spices. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan.
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CHEESECAKE TOPPING:
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In a small bowl, mix cream cheese, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Spread this mixture over the top of the blondie batter.
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Place in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes. Allow blondies to cool completely before cutting.
