99 Ranch grocery runs were a big part of my childhood. My aunt lived right across the street from the location on Hostetter Road in San Jose. Not only could you get white rice in bulk, but there were enough snacks, fresh seafood and tropical fruit to go around. As a wide-eyed kid, I made a beeline to the candy aisle while my parents got their fried tilapia. White Rabbit candy was one of my favorite sweets. Part of its charm is that you can eat the rice paper wrapper! The chewy, milk candy’s packaging is also so iconic. You can recognize the cartoon rabbit on the bag from a mile away.
The nostalgia surrounding White Rabbit has inspired the flavors of everything from White Rabbit cold brew to White Rabbit ice cream. I recently discovered that there are even White Rabbit Lays potato chips out there! When I was thinking of making blondies, I hoped that there had to be some way I could incorporate White Rabbit into the batter. I recently bought a bunch of Thai tea and I had an a-ha moment! I knew from the jump that White Rabbit’s milky flavor would mirror that of the condensed milk you’d traditionally add to a glass of Thai iced tea.
This White Rabbit syrup from Constellation Inspiration is so adaptable! By melting down the candy with some whole milk, you can add it to a frosting, pie filling, whipped cream, etc. For the cream cheese swirl in this recipe, the tanginess of the cream cheese really tempers the sweetness from the addition of the White Rabbit syrup. Also, make sure that your cream cheese and eggs are not cold when you mix in the other ingredients! Having these ingredients at room temperature is key in making sure the batter isn’t lumpy.
In order to achieve the Thai tea flavor in the blondie base, steeping the loose leaves in butter is an essential step. The butter even gets a nice orange hue after you steep the tea leaves in it. Besides this step, Hummingbird High’s blondie recipe provides the foundation for rest of the process. I love making these blondies because you don’t have to bust out the KitchenAid mixer. Stirring by hand is totally fine and even recommended! You never want to overmix the batter because that could lead to a tough blondie.
I hope you make these blondies and that they remind you of simpler times like Thai iced tea boba runs with friends and trips to 99 Ranch! I know that’s what I’m yearning for lately.
White Rabbit Cream Cheese Swirl Thai Tea Blondies
Ingredients
For the Blondies:
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup loose Thai tea leaves
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ¾ cups dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Cream Cheese Swirl:
- 12 pieces White Rabbit candy
- 3 tablespoons whole milk
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Blondies:
- In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter with ½ cup Thai tea mix and let it come to a boil.
- Pour into a glass jar or liquid measuring cup. Let the mixture steep for 10 minutes, then strain the tea leaves and pour butter in a medium bowl.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Lightly spray a 9×13-inch metal cake pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on the pan’s two long sides. Spray the parchment too.
- In the medium bowl, mix butter, brown sugar, vanilla and 2 eggs until well-blended.
- In a separate bowl combine flour and salt. Fold this into the butter mixture until all combined.
- Spread ⅔ of the blondie batter into the 9×13 pan.
- Spoon cream cheese mixture over batter and spread evenly.
- Spoon the remaining ⅓ of the original batter in dollops on top of the cream cheese layer and swirl with a knife.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center of the blondies comes out with a few crumbs attached. Cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.
For the Cream Cheese Swirl:
- In a small pot over medium heat, combine White Rabbit candy and milk. The candy will slowly melt and turn the mixture into a syrup. Keep on stirring with a rubber spatula until all the candy has fully melted (stir frequently since it is susceptible to burning!). Once the candy has all melted, set mixture aside and let cool.
- Set the cream cheese out on your kitchen countertop for at least 2 hours before starting the recipe. If your cream cheese isn’t at room temperature, you will end up with lumps in your mixture.
- In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth and no lumps remain.
- Beat in the egg, White Rabbit syrup & vanilla extract, scraping down sides of bowl.
These look so good! I am trying to track down all of the ingredients. Where did you get your Thai tea leaves? Is there a brand that you would recommend?
Hi Andrew! I actually got this brand from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0071CMILY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I’m so excited for you to make these 🙂