Strawberry New York Cheesecake-Stuffed Blondies

I made these mouthfuls of cheesey bliss for our housewarming party back in July. I obviously took pictures but after the party I kind of forgot about posting these bars because there was so much else going on, and they weren't sitting around reminding me (they had all been eaten within hours.)

Then a few weeks ago a friend who had been at the party told me he had never gotten over how good these blondies were and he wanted me to come over and teach him and his wife how to make them. Slightly embarrassed, I told him I would be sure to get them the recipe. I mean, when people want the goods, who am I to hold back?

This recipe is all about layering. In fact, I was so please with myself at having accomplished all the layering and swirling and getting it into the oven, I positively forgot the last step, which is sprinkling white chocolate chips on the hot bars when they come out, then smearing them around after they've melted. Talk about over the top. But mine were still good.

Graham Layer:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 10 full sheets)
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted

Cheesecake Layer:
10 oz cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 T fresh lemon juice
1 T flour

Blondie Layer:
3/4 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts, optional
2/3 cup strawberry jam
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray sides and bottom of a 9x13 pan.

2. For Blondie Layer, in a medium saucepan over very gentle heat, melt butter and brown sugar together and cook until sugar dissolves somewhat (5 to 8 minutes.) Spoon into a medium mixing bowl and let cool to room temperature.

3. For Graham Layer, toss graham crumbs, brown sugar and butter in bottom of pan and press to cover pan bottom.
4. For Cheesecake Layer, place cream cheese and sugar in a food processor and blend briefly. Then add egg, vanilla, lemon juice, and flour and blend to make a smooth batter.

5. Blondie Layer, continued - Into cooled brown sugar/butter mixture, blend egg, flour, baking powder, salt and nuts. Spread batter evenly over graham crust, using a wet knife or spatula.
6. Spread on half of strawberry jam.
7. Top with cream cheese batter.
8. Using a metal spatula, swirl cream cheese batter deeply into blondie batter so that bottom crust, cheesecake batter and blondie batter marbleize.
9. Top with spoonfuls fo remaining strawberry jam and swirl briefly.
10. Bake 25 to 28 minutes. Squares will seem set but might be slightly jiggly. Remove from oven; sprinkle on white chocolate chips adn then smear after 10 minutes as chips melt. Cool 30 minutes on a wire rack. Chill bars in refrigerator. Cut into squares in pan.
Recips from A Passion for Baking by Marcy Goldman