Cinnamon Blondies Recipe

While blondies might seem like a knockoff version of real brownies, meaning the chocolate kind, The Guardian informs us that the first blondie recipes date back to the late 19^thcentury, making them at least a decade older than brownies. Although most blondies today contain some chocolate in the form of chocolate chips, the primary flavor tends to be butterscotch from the brown sugar. In this version however, recipe developer Catherine Brookes has given the classic blondie a makeover by using cinnamon. She describes these blondies by saying, "Warm spicy cinnamon and sweet white chocolate make for a delicious combination in this easy bake," adding, "I love that you only need one bowl to mix up the batter."

If you're one of those people who feel that white chocolate is way too sweet, you can always sub chopped walnuts for the mix-in chips and skip the top drizzle. Brookes is certainly a fan of white chocolate and feels it goes well with the cinnamon. She says that she would "maybe add nuts in addition" to the chocolate, which is something else you might want to consider.

To make the blondies you'll need butter, white sugar, brown sugar, eggs, flour, and cornstarch, plus vanilla, cinnamon, and white chocolate chips for flavoring. Why cornstarch, you may ask? And how come there are no leavening agents such as baking powder or soda? 

Brookes says her preference is for blondies that are on the chewier side. "I don't tend to use baking soda [or] powder in brownies and blondies," she says, explaining that "[they create] a more light, airy cake texture." If you do prefer a cakier bar yourself, you can always bake the finished blondies for a few minutes longer than the time specified. Of course, don't leave them in the oven too long, or they're liable to burn. Brookes also has a bit of advice about the eggs, saying these really ought to be at room temperature before you use them to bake. "If you add cold eggs to the softened butter," she says, "it can make the mixture split [or] curdle."

Start by preheating the oven to 350 F and greasing a 9x9-inch pan. Brookes also likes to line her pan with parchment paper (foil would work just as well) in order to simplify the task of removing the entire blondie slab. If you know you're just going to be serving the blondies straight out of the pan, you can skip this step.

Beat the butter with both types of sugar in a large bowl. When it's light and fluffy, beat in the eggs and vanilla. Sift the dry ingredients (those being flour, cinnamon, and cornstarch) together, then fold them into the butter mixture. Fold 1 cup of the chocolate chips into the batter. If you're using chopped nuts instead of (or in addition to) the chips, now's the time to add them too.

Spread the blondie batter as evenly as you can in the prepared pan. Bake the blondies for 25 to 30 minutes, testing to see if they are done. If you stick a skewer or toothpick into the center and pull it back out, there should be moist crumbs clinging to it but no runny batter. (Be careful not to stick the skewer into a chip, though, as you might mistake the melted chocolate for batter.) Take the blondies out of the oven and let them sit in the pan for 10 minutes before you attempt to remove the slab from the pan. Then, let the slab of blondies cool on a wire rack for 10 more minutes.

If you're using white chocolate in your blondies, now's the time to melt the remaining chips. Brookes likes to do this in the microwave and advises you to heat them in 30-second bursts, stirring in between. Once the chocolate has melted, drizzle it over the blondie slab.

Whether or not you're adding the chocolate drizzle (and even if you've left the blondies in the pan), let them cool for at least 2 hours before you slice and eat them. They don't need to be refrigerated if you plan to consume them in fairly short order, as Brookes notes that these bar cookies will "keep up to 4 days at room temp[erature] in [an] airtight container."