Chai Cookie Dough Topped Blondies

About a couple weeks ago, I finally got around to trying out a recipe for Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Topped Brownies. I enjoyed them so much that it got me to thinking. You all know about this thing I have for chai spice. Well, I wondered, what about making a chai spiced version of those bars?

To start with, I'd use a blondie base since brown sugar flavors and spice go together hand in hand. I used the recipe for Snickerdoodle Blondies from Sweet Pea's Kitchen and altered it slightly by omitting the nutmeg from the batter. I also left off the cinnamon-sugar topping since I would be using the cookie dough on the blondies instead.


For the cookie dough topping, I turned to Brown Eyed Baker and altered the recipe she used for her Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Topped Brownies. I used all brown sugar, decreased the vanilla, increased the flour, added my chai spice blend, and omitted the chocolate chips.

After baking the blondie base and cooling it, I slathered on the cookie dough topping and finished it off with a melted white chocolate drizzle and some chopped pistachios. I was really pleased at how it turned out and how pretty it all looked. It also tasted quite good.


But, there's always room for a little improvement. I think next time, I'd decrease the amount of sugar in the cookie dough topping. It was a little too sweet for me and reminded me more of buttercream frosting than cookie dough. Secondly, the cookie dough was a bit too soft for my taste, so I'd also decrease the amount of milk. Finally, when making the blondie base, I'd probably increase the recipe by half (just to give me a thicker bar for my base) and add more chopped pistachios to it for texture and flavor. Still, though, for a first try, it was yummy indeed. And, after I tweak it up, I have a feeling it's gonna be amazing.


Chai Cookie Dough Topped Blondies (inspired by Brown Eyed Baker and Sweet Pea's Kitchen and created by Lisa of Sweet as Sugar Cookies)

Blondies (adapted from Sweet Pea's Kitchen)

1 1/3 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. packed light brown sugar
1/2 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Chai Cookie Dough (adapted from Brown Eyed Baker)

3/4 c. salted butter, softened
1 1/2 c. brown sugar (I'd decrease this to 1 cup next time)
3 Tbsp. milk (I'd decrease this to 2 Tbsp.)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. chai spice (1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. ginger powder, 1/4 tsp. allspice, 1/4 tsp. cardamom, 1/8 tsp. white pepper)

melted white chocolate, for drizzling
chopped pistachios, for sprinkling on top

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9x13 inch pan with foil, with an overhang on all four sides. Butter the foil. Cream the butter with the sugar. Add the egg and vanilla and beat well. Add the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Spread the batter evenly in the pan and bake 25-35 min. until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely or chill in the fridge to speed up the process.

For the cookie dough layer: Cream the butter and the sugar. Add the milk and vanilla and mix until combined. Mix in the flour and chai spice until just combined.

Spread the cookie dough over the cooled blondies. Sprinkle with the chopped pistachios. Drizzle with the melted white chocolate. Chill until the dough is firm, about 1 hour.

Blueberry White Chocolate Blondies

It's Reveal Day once again for the Secret Recipe Club. This month, I was assigned to Heather's blog, Eggs Cream and Honey. In case you didn't know, Heather lives in England. How cool is that! She has so many neat recipes on her site and I finally decided to go with the Chewy Chunky Blondies. The great thing about these bars is that you can add whatever you want to them and it's sure to be good - chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, toffee, etc. I decided to go with a combo of white chocolate chips and dried blueberries.

The blondies were super delicious. They were definitely chewy and had an awesome caramelly flavor from the brown sugar infused into every bite. Plus, the white chocolate blueberry combo is simply marvelous. I ate some of the edge (my favorite part) right after it came out of the oven. Sure, it was hot, but oh so gooey . . .


I am in love with these blondies and will never look for another recipe for them again. I'm thinking I might like to try them with orange, ginger, and dried cranberries or some chai spice or cherries and dark chocolate. The possibilities are endless. Thanks Heather for one sweet recipe!




Chewy Chunky Blondies
(adapted from Dorie Greenspan's "Baking From My Home to Yours")

2 c. flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 c. packed light brown sugar
1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 large eggs
1 c. white chocolate chips
2/3 c. dried blueberries

Preheat the oven to 325F. Butter a 9x13" baking pan.

Cream the butter and sugars until until well incorporated. Add the eggs one by one, beating for 1 min. after each addition, then beat in the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients, mixing just until they disappear into the batter. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the chocolate chips and blueberries. Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top as best as you can.

Bake for about 40 min., or until a knife inserted into the center of the blondies comes out clean. The blondies should pull away from the sides of the pan a little and the top should be a nice honey brown. Transfer the pan to a rack and let cool completely.

Citrus Ginger Blondies

Can you believe it's already November? We're already halfway through the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies and time is flying by. I'm still sticking with my spice theme and so this week, I chose to make these Citrus Ginger Blondies that I saw on Redpath Acts of Sweetness.


Imagine, chewy bars with three kinds of zest, three kinds of juice, and a combo of four spices. Really, you can't go wrong with that. One taste of the batter (before adding the eggs of course) and I had a feeling these were going to be something special. Then, one whiff of that glorious aroma when they came out of the oven and I couldn't wait try them. The blondies are a little on the cakey side, but I think chilling them would make them more blondie-like. Not that I'm complaining because the taste is out of this world. The flavors combine beautifully and the candied ginger is definitely a must. I also sprinkled a little raw sugar on top which gave it a yummy, crisp crust.


The creators of these blondies suggested topping them with cream cheese icing but it's not necessary cause they are plenty good without it. Of course, a little extra indulgence never hurt anyone, especially during the holidays, so frost away if you want. Tis the season after all.


Citrus Ginger Blondies (Redpath Acts of Sweetness)

1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour(
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup + 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I used vanilla powder)
1/4 cup candied ginger, chopped
2 tablespoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Juice and zest of 1 lemon, 1 lime, and 1 orange
2 eggs
1/2 - 1 Tbsp. raw sugar (for sprinkling)

Preheat over to 350F.

Cream butter in a mixer until light and fluffy. Add sugars and beat until well combined. Add eggs one at a time and beat until fluffy. Add the vanilla.

Add the candied ginger, zest, and juices from the lemon, lime, and orange. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and spices. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat until just combined. Spread the batter into a greased 8x8" pan. Bake for 25 min. (mine took 40 min.).

Note: If you want, you can sprinkle the top with the raw sugar about halfway through the baking time (i.e. when the batter is about halfway set).

Peanut Butter Choc Chip Blondies

When I was assigned to Lesa's blog, Edesia's Notebook for this month's Secret Recipe Club, I immediately knew which recipe I wanted to make - Peanut Butter Blondies. So far, I had never been ever to find a recipe for it that suited me. The ones I made previously just weren't peanut buttery enough.

From the looks of her post, it looked like Edesia had encountered the same problem. Her solution? She took this recipe, decreased the butter and increased the peanut butter. Now we're talking! How does 3/4 cup of peanut butter to 1 cup of flour sound to you? It sounded like a winner to me, so I eagerly went to my kitchen to try this recipe for myself. The only changes I made were to use crunchy peanut butter and semisweet chocolate chips instead of white chocolate chips.


Memo to me: peanut butter + butter + brown sugar = pure heaven in a bowl. That beginning mixture alone was tempting; I literally wanted to spread it on everything. But, with extreme will power, I pressed on. The resulting blondies were everything I could ever want. The peanut butter taste was front and center. Each bite was chewy and dense and the semisweet chocolate chips I sprinkled on top added the perfect touch.


Thank you Lesa for helping me to finally find that perfect peanut butter blondie recipe!

Peanut Butter Choc Chip Blondies (Edesia's Notebook)

6 Tbsp. butter, softened
3/4 c. peanut butter (I used crunchy)
1 c. light brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
semisweet chocolate chips (for sprinkling)

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease an 8x8 pan.

Cream the butter and peanut butter together until very soft. Add the brown sugar, egg, and vanilla extract, and beat until combined. Add the flour and baking powder; mix to form a dough.

Spread the dough in the prepared pan and bake in the oven for 25-30 min., or until golden brown and almost firm in the center.

Allow the brownies to cool in the pan before removing and cutting into squares.

Pumpkin Blondies (By Accident)

I intended to make pumpkin bread from my mom's recipe. I got all my ingredients together and followed the recipe exactly. Then, with great anticipation, I put my little loaves into the oven to bake. I imagined how it would be to bite into a nice fluffy slice later that afternoon.

When I finally went to check my loaves, I noticed that something was definitely wrong. They hadn't risen like they were supposed to. Upon removing one from its pan and cutting off a slice, I also saw that the bread was very dense. What happened to my fluffy little breads? I ran back to my computer, perused my recipe with great care, and saw that indeed I had done everything right. So, what could have gone wrong? Well, as it turns out, I had copied the recipe wrong, omitting the part about the baking soda. As a result, I didn't put any in and, there you have it, dense little breads (if they could still be called such).

I was about to despair. All that time, effort, and ingredients spent. I was about to throw them into the trash and chalk this up as a failure. Then, I took a taste. Oh my gosh. It still tasted perfect - pumpkiny, spicy, and delicious. This could no longer be called bread. No, rather this inadvertent mistake had transformed them into the most incredible pumpkin blondies - dense, moist, slightly cakey, and full of flavor to the max. In fact, this ranked right up there with the pumpkin pie bars/brownies I had also made that same day (that post to follow later this week).


I was absolutely thrilled. It was definitely a happy accident. As a matter of fact, I may have to make this "mistake" again (totally unintentionally, mind you).


"Mistaken" Pumpkin Blondies

2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
2 c. sugar
3/4 c. salted butter or margarine
1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin
2 eggs

Sift all dry ingredients together. Cream butter and sugar and add the eggs. Add the pumpkin. Add flour mixture. Bake at 350F in five mini greased loaf pans for about 30-45 min., or until a toothpick comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached. Alternately, this could also be baked in a greased 9x13 pan for a more blondie-like appearance.

This recipe is linked to:

11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven's "Homemaker Monday"
All the Small Stuff's "Tuesdays at the Table"
Blessed with Grace's "Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays"
A Moderate Life's "Hearth and Soul Hop"
Beauty and Bedlam's "Tasty Tuesday"
A Beautiful Mess's "Tasty Tuesdays"
Dr. Laura's "Tasty Tuesday"
The King's Court IV: "What's Cooking Wednesdays"
ScrapAddict4Sure's "Whatcha Makin' Wednesdays"
Simply Sweet Home's "Friday Favorites"
Designs by Gollum's "Foodie Fridays"
Moms Crazy Cooking Blog Hop Party
Dessert Friday

Hooked on Blondies

This is another well loved recipe on the Internet and, after making it once, I too became a follower of this delectable blondie. It is chewy, it is cakey, it is the best snickerdoodle you will ever eat.

It is definitely a keeper for my recipe collection. Of course, I realize that I am but one humble reviewer. Therefore, I will also tell you that my family absolutely loved them as well. I made an 8x8 pan which was promptly eaten by the three of them and was almost gone in a matter of hours. Only a couple pieces remained and those were taken by my sister for her breakfast the next morning. What's more, they all unanimously requested that I make another pan that very same day. If that doesn't convince you, then I say make these blondies and let them speak for themselves. Your tummy will thank you.

Snickerdoodle Blondies (from Dozen Flours)

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup butter, at room temperature
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch pan.

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. In large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth.

Stir in the flour mixture until well blended. Spread evenly in prepared pan (mixture will be somewhat cookiebatter-ish.) Combine white sugar and cinnamon in a little bowl. Evenly sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over the top of the batter.

Bake 25-30 minutes or until surface springs back when gently pressed. Cool slightly. While still warm, cut into bars with a sharp knife.

Pumpkin Blondies

I had such high hopes for these after seeing the recipe on Annie's Eats. After all, she got them off of the Martha Stewart website (for pumpkin-chocolate chip squares). I love the spiciness and flavor of pumpkin bread, so I thought these would be even better. They weren't. I can't believe I could be so disappointed with a Martha Stewart recipe, but I was. They come out more cakelike than blondie-like (which are more dense) and the flavor just wasn't there. I could barely taste the pumpkin, let alone the spices. The only good part about the whole thing was the butterscotch chips I put in them. Without those, they really would be too bland.

I'm not sure exactly what the problem is. Maybe swapping out the white sugar for brown sugar would give it a deeper flavor, that and doubling the amount of spices. I don't know. But, I think I'll stick with my own pumpkin bread recipe from now on. That's always a sure-fire pleaser.

Pumpkin Blondies

2 c. flour
1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
16 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 1/4 c. sugar (or brown sugar)
1 egg
2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. pumpkin puree
2 c. butterscotch chips

Grease a 9x13 pan. Combine dry ingredients. Cream butter and sugar and add the egg and vanilla. Add the pumpkin. Add dry ingredients and stir in the chips. Pour into pan and bake 35-40 min.

Our Family's Pumpkin Loaves

2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
2 c. sugar
3/4 c. butter
1 (1 lb.) can pumpkin
2 eggs

Sift all dry ingredients together. Cream butter and sugar and add the eggs. Add the pumpkin. Add flour mixture. Bake in two large loaf pans for 1 hour and 15 min. at 325F.

Update 3/27 - I took these to my ward's Munch n' Mingle today and there wasn't a single one left! So, it seems that I may have been a little too critical of them, since other people really enjoyed them. Oh, and chilling them in the fridge really helps to make them more dense like blondies should be.