Strawberry Goat Cheese Blondies

Blondies are one of my favorite desserts, and I love making them for parties.  I usually stick with my classic recipe, but this weekend I'm making them for a pool party so I wanted to mix it up and add a little summer to them.  I've also been on a bit of a goat cheese kick lately so I knew I wanted to sneak it into this recipe.  

I came up with a cheesecake recipe in which I replaced some of the cream cheese with goat cheese, and then I added strawberry jam to it.  Next I made my blondie batter and reduced the sugar in it just a bit to make sure that the final product wasn't too sweet.  Then I swirled both batters together and let them get to know each other in the oven ;)  The final result was outrageous!  The best way I can describe these is it's like strawberry cheesecake and blondies hooked up, and it is a beautiful thing!  The goat cheese adds this wonderful little punch to them without being over powering.  The slight tartness blends perfectly with the sweetness of the strawberry jam.  If you've never used goat cheese in a dessert this is a great place to start.  It's the one thing that will make you go hmm what is that, and will definitely leave you wanting more.  Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!  

Blondie Batter

• 3 sticks unsalted butter
• 2 cups light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2t. vanilla bean paste
• 3 cups cake flour
• 2t. baking powder
• 1t. salt

1. Cream butter and sugars till light and fluffy.
2. Add eggs and vanilla bean paste.
3. Mix in dry ingredients.

Strawberry Goat Cheese Filling

• 6oz. goat cheese
• 4oz. cream cheese
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 egg yolks
• 1t. vanilla extract
• 3 oz. sour cream
• 1/2 cup strawberry jam

1. Cream goat cheese and cream cheese till smooth.
2. Add sugar.
3. Add egg, yolks, and vanilla extract.
4. Mix in sour cream and jam.

Assembly

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper and pan spray.
2. Place about three quarters of the blondie batter in the pan.
3. Spoon on some of the goat cheese filling and swirl together with a toothpick.
4. Dollop the remaining blondie batter on top.
5. Spoon on some more goat cheese filling.
6. Swirl with a toothpick again.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes rotating once halfway through.
8. Refrigerate the blondies over night before serving.