Cream Cheese Swirl Blondies

   Bismillah.

   Another entry for Baking Blues.

   This time I made an attempt at making blondies, using a recipe from Martha Stewart’s Cookies recipe book which my brothers borrowed from the library. I (and they) probably spent hours and hours poring over the book and licking our lips. They (the cookies, not my brothers) look simply delicious!

   The thing is, I haven’t exactly been baking a lot recently. My first attempt during these holidays was an apple pie.

   …………………………………..

   I think there’s no need to say anymore.

   But after my success with the egg tarts (if you can call it a success, that is) some of my courage came back and I thought, maybe I should buck up and try out other recipes. So that’s what I’m trying to do.

   Starting with blondies. Of all things.

   I actually came across some recipes for blondies a while back. I wondered what they were since I'd never heard of them before. After a while, I decided that they were probably a ‘blond’ version of brownies. As my friend Tasha put it, they’re actually brownies, only without chocolate.

   The problem is, I’d never even made brownies before, although I’d always hankered after it.

   Nevertheless, I put these things out of my mind and went at it. There happened to be a packet of cream cheese in the fridge. It'd been sitting there since the last Eid. My youngest brother had been egging me to make a cheesecake, but I decided to use it for the blondies instead.

   Anyway,like I said, I took the recipe from a book, but you can to this link and get it there. I love looking through Martha's recipes, my tummy just rumbles everytime I do it.

   Oh, and of course I didn't forget photos. How could I forget photos?

   But first I'll list down my blunders, just to please myself. Therefore you'll know why my blondies looks like this:

   and not like this:

Martha's blondies (Source)

   The things is, before this I always- or sometimes- or most of the time, just chuck in the ingredients without really measuring properly. Oh of course, I do make the measurements, but I don't do it the correct way, like say, spreading flour using a knife or spatula across the top of the measuring cup to ensure correct measurements. I just dump in the flour, nod at the fact it fits into the cup, and dump them in the mixture or batter later.

   This time however, I really grit my teeth and tried to measure properly. I even used the measurements in the book (using spoons for butter, which is really messy) and googled to find how much 1 stick of butter is in grams. I really tried my best, and followed the instructions to the book.

   Or so I thought.

   First of all, I mistook  the amount of flour for 1 1/2 cup. It's supposed to be 1 2/3 cup.

   Next, I used baking powder that's supposed to have expired. It looked all right though, and it seemed a shame to just throw them away.

   The recipe called for 6 ounces of cream cheese. The whole packet of cheese is 8 ounces which is equal to 250 grams. At first I only put in 6 ounces, as directed. But then, after the cheese mixture was all mixed, I thought it was a shame to leave the rest of the cheese just like that. WHo knows when I'd use them again.

   So I chucked in the rest of the cream cheese. 

   Then I had a hard time understanding how I was supposed to put the batter and cheese mixture together, so I just followed my instincts, and got this:

My rather awkward swirlies. Sigh.

   Then (I think), I overcooked the blondies.

   Which is why they look like this when they came out of the oven:

I guess I should have stayed by the oven instead of Facebooking

   Haha. However, my brother tasted them and said they were really good. And they are!

   Oh, and how could I forget. I forgot to put sugar in the cream cheese mixture. Which resulted in a sour-like taste in the cheese part of the blondie. However, it's still edible, and the sour taste kinds of create a contrast the the sweetness on the brown parts. Maybe I'll try making them again in the future. This time, I'll follow the instructions word-for-word.

   I especially love how the cheese sort of created that wave in the blondies.

Look at the cheesy cheese waves. Forget forgetting the sugar.

   My verdict: An absolute must try! But you better follow the instructions exactly to the word!

   Anyway, I cut the blondies nicely, but into very small squares. The recipe is supposed to make 9 large pieces or 6 small ones, but I cut mine into very small ones, probably about 40 to 50 pieces, like this. Besides,you know how everyone is like in our family... we eat desserts like we eat rice. No kidding. So small pieces equals to more chances for everyone to have more than just a small taste.

Cutting my blondies. Maybe they're not that blond because I'm NOT blond? Haha. Bad joke.

   I think I'll try a hand at chocolate chips cookies after this. I've never been able to get them right either. Oh, yeah. You're right. Don't forget to follow instructions.

   Now, let's eat!!!

Yummy!!

KakNgah's blondies. Period.