Blueberry Cheesecake Blondies

Where did this weekend go? I seem to be saying that a lot lately, but I mean honestly I don't even feel like this weekend has started yet and your telling me it's over? You're kidding right? 

No? 

Right, well then let's try and figure out where all that time disappeared to....

Friday night - come home from work, make chocolate cupcakes in return for RSPCA donations....whilst waiting for them to cool, make tuna bake for Mr B and I to have with dinner. Mr B pours himself a glass of lemonade and sits down, I laugh because he forgot to add the whiskey....Mr B tells me he is sticking to lemonade for awhile....I think I may have passed out....

Saturday - Mr B gets up early and goes to work, I roll over to watch the fog rolling in across our property, like a big blanket over the sheepies, thinking yay for having the big warm bed all to myself....5 minutes later I think 'Oh hell I'm awake....' and get up.

It's not even 7:30am on a Saturday morning and I'm in the kitchen making Blueberry Cheesecake Blondies.....by 9:30am I've managed to deliver the chocolate cupcakes, go to the supermarket and somewhere in there I think I drank some toast and demolished a coffee. 

When I got home I made some Blueberry Muffins and some Cinnamon Rolls - that turned out to be a cross between a Cinnamon Roll and Monkey Bread....either way they were awesome and I will tell you all about them later in the week! 

It was now nearly lunchtime, the kitchen was covered in flour, dough, pans, bowls and shopping bags....so I decided to go to town and buy Mr B's anniversary present. On the way I stopped in at where Mr B was working and dropped off the blueberry muffins for him and the boys - I figure if you have to work all day out in the cold on a weekend, you may as well get some fresh baked blueberry muffins for your troubles! 

On my way back home from town I started to feel very very tired....and when I looked in the rear view mirror I realised I had a smear of dried dough on my face and my hair smelt like curry powder, it's fair to say I hadn't just hit the wall....but the wall had slapped me right across the face. No time for that though, I got home, made some icing for the cinnamon / monkey rolls and cleaned up the kitchen. 

In an effort to remain awake, I threw on some music and attempted some polefit....turns out it has been quite some time since I have done any and my arm muscles are once again non-existent, cue me lying on the floor gasping for breath, with a potential broken foot, after trying to do what used to be a basic climb....definitely time to get back into training! Managed to crawl into the shower and just as I was getting out, Mr B arrives home. I say hello as I pass him and crawl into bed, utterly exhausted!! 

After my hour long power nap, we are up and on the go again. Friends of ours were having a get together, boys playing poker at one end of the house, girls attending a Horny Little Devils (think adults only Avon!) party at the other end. The boys played drinking games, the girls ate Mars Bar cheesecake and cob loaf filled with cheesy goodness. Who would be a boy!? 

Ok - so just writing about Saturday is making me tired! I'm starting to see where the weekend disappeared to now.... 

Today was equally mad - Mr B's brother delivered us some gravel at an unheard of hour for a Sunday morning (before 10am) and we went to visit Mr B's sister so we could meet her new little bubba, who was just a picture of peacefulness, and to top it all off we met up with Mr B's Mum and spent the afternoon touring around, visiting shops - and having lunch of course! By the time we finished touring we had just enough energy left to do the groceries and crawl into bed with a cup of tea and a bowl of blue cake and bavarian - the blue cake will make sense to you later in the week I promise! 

For now let me tell you about the Blueberry Cheesecake Blondies. You need to make these. If you ever find yourself with dough on your face and curry powder in your hair, these will make the world right again. 

Think a chewy blueberry blondie, topped with baked cheesecake, topped with a thin crumbly shortbread layer - that's right....the triple dessert threat in one delicious and easy slice!

  

For the Blueberry Blondie layer you will need:

140g butter, softened

2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar

2 tspn vanilla essence

1.5 cups plain flour

2 cups blueberries - fresh or frozen

And for the Cheesecake layer you will need:

250g cream cheese at room temperature

1/4 cup caster sugar 

1 egg at room temperature

1 tspn vanilla essence

And last but not least, for the Shortbread Topping you will need:

70g butter

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup plain flour

Preheat the oven to 160C and line a 8 inch square baking pan with grease poof paper and spray with a little nonstick cooking spray too just to be safe.

For the blondie layer - In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat butter, brown sugar and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Mix in the flour on low speed, and mix until just incorporated. Add the blueberries and mix in by hand. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and set aside.

For the cheesecake layer - Beat the cream cheese and sugar using an electric mixer until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Pour the cheesecake mix over the blondie batter. 

In a bowl, combine the butter and brown sugar. Place in the microwave for 40-50 seconds on medium high or until butter is melted. Add the flour and stir to combine. This mix will not completely cover the top of the cheesecake layer, but just drop teaspoons of it randomly over the top and they should join together during baking. 

Bake for about 45-55 minutes or until the top is golden and feels firm - the cheesecake should look set if you give the pan a gentle shake. 

Allow to cool in the tin for 10-15 mins before removing to a board. Slice into bars and store in the fridge. 

Enjoy!!

Mrs B xx