Butterscotch Cream Cheese Blondies

I began with an Oatmeal Cream Cheese Butterscotch Bars recipe from the foodnetwork and in the end made something of my own due to lack of equipment and incorrect ingredients. I was looking for a treat to bring into work because once again I was being harassed. Everyone always wants my Guinness cupcakes but I like to try and make different things. It is so boring to keep making the same thing and besides haven’t they figured out they are my guinea pigs? Anyway, I found this recipe on foodnetwork.com that was supposed to be a butterscotch cream cheese cake. I love cheese cake but I am hesitant to make one because I am afraid that I’ll eat the whole thing and that is no good for anyone. So I have tried some different recipes that sound promising, like chocolate chip cheesecake bars but they always leave something to be desired. Anyway, I decided to give this one a go.


I went to the store and picked up everything I needed. When I got home, I started the oven and was getting everything ready and then I read the directions. This recipe needs a food processor. I determine that is can not be too difficult without one and I was correct, the hardest part was chopping the butterscotch chips with a knife. (which BP II took care of for me) I think the idea was to make a crumble like mixture and use it as a crust as well as a topping. I thought it would be better to melt the butter and really make it like a cheesecake crust, which turned out incredibly well if I do say so myself. The error was in buying evaporated milk instead of condensed milk. Sadly, I didn’t even realize my error until I mixed it with the cream cheese and saw the consistency. It was like whole milk. I am pretty sure it was supposed to be thicker. I figured I would just go for and see what happens. I tried putting the topping on this liquid mixture but it just sank. (I bet it was because I melted the butter and made this non-floating concoction)

When I took the bars out of the oven, I thought things had gone terribly wrong. It looked odd. I let it cool for a bit and figured I would just taste a bit to see what it tasted like – awful. I was soo disappointed. After that it was time to call it a night. On my way to bed, I put the pan in the refrigerator. The next morning I decided to try it again and see if the cooling had helped at all because after all it was loosely based off a cheesecake recipe which tastes better cold. I was pleasantly surprised. The crust turned out really well and because it was sooo thick it was brownie consistency. I did think that the cream cheese filling could use some sugar but I brought them to work anyway. I told them these were a mistake and not to judge but the reaction was surprising. People thought they were good and didn’t need anymore sugar. I will be honest, they did grow on me a bit. These blondies were a pleasant surprise. I don’t think I will make them a staple like my Guinness cupcakes but definitely something different to keep things interesting.

My Butterscotch Cream Cheese Blondies

Ingredients:

1 bag of butterscotch chips
8oz package of cream cheese
2 cups of flour
¾ cup of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla
14 oz of evaporated milk
1 cup of butter, melted
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 ½ cups of rolled oats

Directions:

1.) Chop butterscotch chips until very fine.
2.) Combine flour, oats, cinnamon and brown sugar in a bowl. Add the butterscotch chips and then the melted butter. Stir until butter is fully integrated. You might need to use your hands.
3.) Press half the “crumble” mixture into a 9 x 13 pan. Bake for 15 minutes at 350º, remove and cool for about 10 minutes.
4.) In another bowl, combine cream cheese, vanilla, lemon juice and evaporated milk.
5.) Pour cream cheese combination on top of the crust. Slowly sprinkle the remaining crumble mixture on top.
6.) Bake at 350º for 5 minutes or until brown. Cool and REFRIDGERATE before eating.

Interestingly enough, I googled the difference between condensed milk and evaporated milk and it turns out these is no difference between evaporated milk and unsweetened condensed milk and they can be used interchangeably. There is a difference; however, between evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk. Apparently, sweetened condensed milk is super sweet. I think if I would have put sweetened condensed milk in my blondies, it would have turned out toothache sweet. So this accident might have been a blessing in disguise.