Gingerbread Chocolate Chip Blondies
I’ve often expressed my affinity for things in bar form, but there comes a point when it feels like you’ve tried every brownie and blondie recipe out there, and to make things interesting you’ve got to mix it up somehow. Personally, I could never tire of a spectacular chocolate brownie (these are my go-to), but it is fun to try new things and see what you come up with.
These blondies were just that. I definitely enjoy a good, basic blondie, but their formula is pretty simple and this time I wanted something elevated and different. Not fancy, just different. I made these during gingerbread season (that’s a gentle way of saying, several months ago 🙂 ), and I stockpiled them in my freezer to satisfy my sweet tooth. I shared a couple too… but only a couple 🙂
The original recipe was one with white chocolate chips, which I fully intended to use until I got to baking and realized I didn’t have any white chocolate in the pantry. Woops. So I substituted regular semi-sweet chocolate chips, remembering a delicious Chewy Chocolate Chip Gingersnap recipe I’d made before and loved.
The result was something different indeed, and I really enjoyed it. These blondies have a thicker, firmer texture than a traditional blondie, but they’re still plenty moist and wonderfully chewy. There is a certain richness to their flavor that must come from all the warm spices, which don’t overwhelm at all but instead blend beautifully into the buttery dough. I think white chocolate here would work so wonderfully — the creamy texture and extra sugar would compliment the dough so well, but I really enjoyed the chocolate chips nonetheless. I’m a dark chocolate girl at heart, and that’ll never change!
I’m not sure how socially acceptable it is to make gingerbread desserts at the end of January, but I wouldn’t judge if you made these one bit. Or save ’em for next year — they’re delish!
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon white whole wheat flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/4 cup light-brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, plus 1 large egg yolk
- 1 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup unsulfured molasses
- 10 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/3 cup chopped crystalized ginger
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9×13 baking dish with parchment paper and butter the paper. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.
- In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugars together until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add in the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition. Add in the vanilla and molasses and continue to mix until well incorporated.
- Add the dry ingredients in 2 additions, mixing until all of the ingredients are well combined. Add the chocolate chips and crystalized ginger, and mix on low speed just to incorporate.
- Spoon the mixture into the prepped baking pan and spread evenly. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the blondies are set and the edges are just starting to turn golden brown. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out with no crumbs.
- Let the blondies cool in the pan completely. When ready to serve, use the overhanging parchment to pull the blondies out. Slice and serve!
