Friday, December 14, 2012

Gingerbread Blondies with Caramel Frosting

When I think of holiday baking, the first thing that comes to my mind is peppermint. Or chocolate and peppermint. But not white chocolate peppermint (which is what things always seem to be) because I despise white chocolate. But that's another story for another time.

Anyway, I love peppermint but there are so darn many peppermint recipes this time of year. I'll make them, I'll eat them, but sometimes I wanna mix it up.

So what's the second holiday flavor I think of? Gingerbread! I was brainstorming some unique ways to use gingerbread flavors when the idea for these popped into my head. I've never made blondies-because when brownies are so good why would I want to take out the chocolate-and these were an awesome first go round.

When it comes to brownies I am usually not down with the whole brownie+frosting thing, but that's probably because I like my brownies super fudgy. However these blondies are more cakey, so I am totally okay with slapping frosting on them.

Oh, and this frosting is totally not photogenic, but don't let that fool you. It. is. awesome.
I am entering these blondies in the Creative Holiday Recipe Contest hosted by Confessions of a Cookbook Queen and Cookies and Cups!

Gingerbread Blondies
2 3/4 cups plus 1 Tbs all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 1/2 sticks (20 Tbs) unsalted butter, at room temperature (see note)
1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup + 2 Tbs granulated sugar
2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup molasses

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray or line with parchment paper. 

Mix together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and yolk, one at a time, mixing well between each addition and scraping down the bowl as needed.  Beat in the vanilla and molasses.  Reduce speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture. Mix until just incorporated. 

Pour the batter into the greased dish. It will be very thick, almost like cookie dough, but don't worry. Spread and smooth top with a spatula. 

Bake 30-35 minutes, or until the edges are golden. Allow to cool in pan completely before cutting. 

*Note: I only had 11 Tbs butter, so I substituted the rest with 5 Tbs plain Greek yogurt and 4 Tbs canola oil. Because of this, your blondies may have a slightly different texture than mine.

Caramel Frosting
1/2 cup margarine or butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
2 cups powdered sugar

Melt butter over medium heat in 2-quart saucepan. Stir in brown sugar. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low. Boil and stir 2 minutes. Stir in milk. Heat to boiling; remove from heat. Cool to lukewarm. Gradually stir in powdered sugar. 

Place saucepan of frosting in bowl of cold water. Beat until smooth and of spreading consistency. If frosting becomes too stiff, stir in additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time. (I was able to skip this step because my caramel was cool enough before adding the powdered sugar)