These Fruity-Cheesy Swirled Blondies are easy to customize based on your budget and ingredient availability. Go expensive and fancy and use a goat cheese log, or more budget-conscious and still-delicious with standard cream cheese.

I’ve done it both ways. Both are fantastic. For the goat cheese, I recommending hitting someplace like Costco or Sam’s Club. For cream cheese, my go-to has become Aldi.

Use any variety of jams or preserves, but the one necessity is that it is THICK. A watery one will sink to the bottom (says the voice of experience). I found the good basic Smucker’s Strawberry Jam was fine in this recipe.

PrintBready or Not Original: Fruity-Cheesy Swirled BlondiesThis recipe is vaguely named Fruity-Cheesy Swirled Blondies because you can customize the ingredients: use either soft goat cheese or standard cream cheese along with a thick fruit jam or preserves of your choice.Course Breakfast, Dessert, SnackKeyword bars, cheese, preservesAuthor Beth CatoEquipment9×9 panaluminum foilnonstick sprayuneven spatulaIngredientsBlondies12 Tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks) room temperature1/2 cup white sugar3/4 cup light brown sugar packed2 large eggs room temperature1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder1/2 teaspoon saltCheesecake Swirl8 ounces soft goat cheese or cream cheese, softened2 Tablespoons white sugar1 Tablespoon plain or vanilla Greek yogurt or sour cream1 large egg room temperature1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract3/4 cup jam or preservesInstructionsPreheat oven at 325-degrees. Line a 9-inch square pan with foil and apply nonstick spray.In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt until just combined.In a separate bowl, beat together the cheese, sugar, yogurt, egg, and vanilla to make smooth.Pour about half the blondie batter into the prepared pan. Smooth it out with an uneven spatula.Dollop on all of the cheese mixture. Then add spoonfuls of the jam to fill any gaps. Follow up by adding dollops of the remaining blondie batter. Use a butter knife to swirl the layers together for a marbled effect.Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the middle is not jiggly and passes the toothpick test. Cool for at least an hour at room temperature, then chill in fridge. Once the pan is cool, use the foil to lift the blondies onto a cutting board to slice into bars.Enjoy promptly or store in a sealed container in the fridge to eat over the coming days.OM NOM NOM!