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As summer is winding down, my wife loves to get into the kitchen and start baking! She loves making desserts galore, and this week she had to make some to take to the first football game of the season (Go Ducks!).
She decided to lean a little fancier and look for something that was easy but wouldn’t taste like it.
Cue the deliciousness that are these super sweet blondies!
Soft with bits of crunch, super sweet paired with the tang of cranberries and orange zest, you’ll please everyone with this bar!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup butter, plus some for greasing pan
- 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 6 oz white baking chocolate chips
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- Zest of 1 medium orange
- 6 oz white baking chocolate chips, melted
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare a 9×13 glass pan with butter and parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, microwave butter to melt. Beat in brown sugar until fully combined. Allow to cool slightly. Beat in one egg at a time, combining until fully incorporated between each. Add vanilla extract and mix in.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon until combined. Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients, stirring until fully combined. Gently mix in white chocolate chips and cranberries.
- Pour thick batter into prepared pan, spreading evenly as possible. Place pan in oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.* (Do not over bake) Remove from oven and place pan on a cooling rack.
- While baking, prepare the frosting by beating the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and zest together until fully combined and fluffy.
- Allow blondies to almost completely cool. Frost, top with remaining dried cranberries, and drizzle with white chocolate.
- Once they have fully cooled and melted chocolate has melted, remove blondies from pan. Cut into 36 bars (3 columns, 12 rows). Serve, then store leftovers in the refrigerator.
Notes
*Check more than just the center for doneness – the first time we made these somehow the center was done, but the cracks near the edges were still underbaked.
Which do you prefer?! Blondies or brownies? Leave your vote in the comments!