Gingerbread cheesecake swirl blondies are a delicious holiday dessert. Gooey spiced gingerbread blondies made with fresh ginger are extra spicy and swirled with a cream cheese topping - they taste like Christmas in a dessert! (vegetarian, nut-free)

Closeup of a gingerbread cheesecake swirl blondie with a bite taken out of the corner.

For the final month of the year, gingerbread is a classic holiday flavor (my favorite!). Since cheesecake is my all-time favorite dessert, I combined the two into one amazing Christmas dessert!

If you love gingerbread too, make sure to try my gingerbread syrup and healthy gingerbread waffles!

Why You'll Love These Gingerbread Blondies

The gingerbread blondie base is soft, gooey, and full of spices like punchy fresh ginger, cinnamon and cloves, just like traditional gingerbread! Swirled with a rich cream cheese topping that's easy to make, these blondies will make your house smell delicious and are irresistible for gingerbread lovers. The gingerbread batter comes together easily in one bowl with just a whisk thanks to melted butter, and as long as your cream cheese is softened to room temperature, you can easily whisk it without an electric mixer, too.

The Ingredients

overhead view of ingredients needed to make gingerbread cheesecake swirl blondies.

Butter - I use salted, but unsalted works as well. Melt it right in the mixing bowl for fewer dishes!
Brown sugar - light or dark.
Molasses - Molasses provides that classic gingerbread flavor. I use unsulfured molasses.
Eggs
Vanilla
Ginger - For a delicious ginger flavor, I like to use fresh ginger grated with a microplane zester. Fresh ginger paste is a super easy alternative.
Spices - cinnamon and cloves
Flour - I use white whole wheat flour. Add 1 tablespoon if you're using all purpose flour.
Salt & Baking Soda
Cream cheese - I like to use Neufchatel style cream cheese.
Sugar - just enough to lightly sweeten the cream cheese layer.

How To Make Them

9 image collage showing steps for making gingerbread cheesecake swirl blondies.

Make the gingerbread batter. In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, molasses, egg, ginger and vanilla until well combined.
Add the flour, spices, baking soda and salt and whisk until just blended.
Spread the batter into a greased or parchment-lined 8 inch baking dish.
Make the cheesecake swirl. Beat the softened cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth.
Pour over the gingerbread batter in the pan.
Use a spatula to make swirls in the two batters. Because the cheesecake layer isn't very stiff, you'll have to use a scooping motion to bring some of the gingerbread batter toward the top to swirl it.
Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350°F. Allow the blondies to cool before cutting them into squares.

Pro Tips For Delicious Gingerbread Blondies

Make sure the cream cheese is softened to room temperature to ensure it becomes smooth when you mix the cheesecake layer. To soften quickly, you can pop it in the microwave at 50% power (or use the defrost setting) for 5-10 seconds.
If you like your blondies to be more dense, you can omit the baking soda.
I always use a metal pan when baking blondies and brownies because it bakes more evenly than a glass or ceramic pan.
You can substitute ½ teaspoon ground ginger for the fresh ginger.
Always make sure to scoop and level flour for accurate measuring.
Store blondies at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

batch of gingerbread cheesecake blondies cut into squares with the corner piece removed.

More Christmas Desserts You'll Love

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the comments!

Gingerbread Cheesecake Swirl Blondies

closeup of gingerbread cheesecake swirl blondie on a wire rack lined with parchment.

Print Recipe

Author: Kaleigh
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 12 blondies 1x
Category: dessert
Method: baked
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale

½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 large egg
⅔ cup brown sugar
¼ cup molasses
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp fresh grated ginger or ginger paste
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 cup white whole wheat flour (add 1 tbsp for all-purpose flour)
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp baking soda

For the cheesecake swirl:

6 oz cream cheese, room temperature (I use Neufchatel style cream cheese)
3 tbsp granulated sugar
1 large egg
½ tsp vanilla

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a square 8"x 8" baking dish with parchment or lightly grease.
In a large bowl, combine melted butter, brown sugar, molasses, egg, vanilla and ginger. Whisk until well mixed.
Add dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Spread into prepared pan.
In another bowl, use a hand mixer or whisk to beat cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth.
Pour onto gingerbread batter and then use a spatula to make swirls in the two batters.
Bake 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Notes

Because the cheesecake batter isn't super stiff, it's helpful to use your spatula to scoop some of the gingerbread batter toward the top when creating swirls.
Make sure the cream cheese is softened to room temperature to ensure it becomes smooth when you mix the cheesecake layer. To soften quickly, you can pop it in the microwave at 50% power (or use the defrost setting) for 5-10 seconds.
If you like your blondies to be more dense, you can omit the baking soda.
I always use a metal pan when baking blondies and brownies because it bakes more evenly than a glass or ceramic pan.
You can substitute ½ teaspoon ground ginger for the fresh ginger.
Always make sure to scoop and level flour for accurate measuring.
Store blondies at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Keywords: gingerbread cheesecake swirl blondies, gingerbread blondies, gingerbread blondies with cream cheese swirl

This post was originally published December 2015 and has been updated.

Comments

Marla Oneill says

August 04, 2019 at 9:54 am

I just made these and I'm delighted but i added a 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda as there is no leavening. It is called for with other blondie recipes. Just wondering what led you to not include. I chose soda because of the acid in the molasses. I also found that blobs of cream cheese lead to quite a bit moving to the middle. As I look at your photos it seems like you might have spread, then swirled. I will do this the next time and there will be a next time. thanks!

- Kaleigh says
  
  August 06, 2019 at 7:09 am
  
  Hi Marla,
  So glad you enjoyed the recipe! I found that when I added leavening, they were a little too fluffy, and I wanted a dense, brownie-like texture. The extra rising in the oven may have caused the cream cheese to shift for you, too. Thanks for the feedback, and please consider leaving a star rating! 🙂