Cream Cheese, Cranberry & White Chocolate Blondies
Not only do these blondies feature white chocolate, but they offer the tang of cream cheese and the vibrant red and piquant flavour of dried cranberries. I've updated my original recipe to use an entire small (227 g) container of cream cheese and less sugar. Trust me, it's still sweet enough! I've also made improvements to the method.
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 g 227-g container cream cheese (approximately 3/4 cup)
- 1/4 cup butter
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips or chunks
How To Make This Recipe
-
Set out the butter, cream cheese and egg ahead of time (about 30 minutes or so) to bring to room temperature. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9x90-inch baking pan and line with a layer of parchment paper extending up two sides. This makes it easy to remove the blondies from the pan after baking.
-
Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
-
Put the cream cheese and butter in a mixing bowl and beat on low speed until blended. Beat in the sugar, also on low. Because we want the blondies to be dense, the idea is to incorporate as little air as possible into the batter. Then use the same procedure for the egg and vanilla.
-
Then add the dry ingredients and stir until just incorporated. Fold in the cranberries and white chocolate until well distributed.
-
Spread the batter in the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes.
-
Let the blondies cool in the pan, then cut into 16 squares or the shape and number of your choice.
Recipe Notes
- I used to use Philadelphia cream cheese in the cardboard packets, and it was always quite firm. My daughter got my groceries this week and brought me Philadelphia* cream cheese in the little tubs. To my surprise, it was spreadable even when cold, although I didn't see that noted on the package. I have to say, that's handy! I adapted the recipe to use an entire container to avoid having a small amount left over.
- *This is not a sponsored post; that's just the brand that I've always used which can be handy to know in case they process theirs differently from other companies.