I had the idea for these cinnamon roll blondies recently, but they were such a good idea that I had to check and see whether I had had the idea before. It turns out, I had! But, I made them in my brother’s kitchen during my freshman year of college and didn’t have the best setup (or… any setup) for photography of them.
That feels like a lifetime ago, and is probably why I don’t remember them super well. So, I made some major improvements to the recipe (swapping out a frosting for a cheesecake swirl, browning the butter), and then made them in my kitchen with natural lighting to help out with the photography. Cheers to the improvements 4 years can make!
I returned to Joy the Baker’s classic Brown Butter blondies recipe, and then swirled in some classic cinnamon roll filling and simple cream cheese cheesecake. With this combo, there’s really no way it could have gone wrong, but the end result still wow-ed me. A perfect fall dessert. And as they are the perfect fall dessert (and we still have some hot weather that’s taking its time to leave LA) I will most definitely be making these again around Thanksgiving. 
I don’t have much to say this time around. These blondies are delicious. Would be delicious served with ice cream. I’m excited for fall, and these are my first fall bake of the year!
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PinIngredients
For Blondies:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted until browned then cooled slightly
1 cup (200 grams) lightly packed light or dark brown sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup (127 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
For Cinnamon Filling:
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 ½ tablespoons ground cinnamon
¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
For Cream Cheese Swirl:
8 ounces (226 g) cream cheese, softened
⅓ cup (66 g) granulated sugar
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
For Cinnamon Filling:
Stir together all three ingredients in a small bowl until combined. Set aside.
For Cream Cheese Swirl:
In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar on until smooth. You can use a handheld mixer, whisk, or just a fork.
Add the egg yolk and vanilla. Mix until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
For Blondies and Assembly:
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 or 9-inch square or circular baking pan with nonstick cooking spray . Line with parchment paper, leaving two flaps hanging over the edges of the pan. Lightly grease the parchment paper. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together browned butter and sugar. Mixture will be grainy. That’s ok.
Whisk in egg and beat by hand until mixture is slightly pale, about 2 minutes. Whisk in vanilla extract.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add all at once to the butter and sugar mixture. Stir until just incorporated. Mixture will be fairly thick.
Spread batter into prepared pan. Top with alternating dollops of the cinnamon and the cream cheese mixtures. Once you’ve dolloped on all the fillings, swirl them together with a fork or knife. Bake for 20 to 27 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center of the blondies comes out clean.
Remove from oven and allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before removing from the pan and slicing into 9 pieces.