Cinnamon Roll Blondies

I present to you the cinnamon roll blondies, aka cinni roll blondie. It's not really a secret that I am super into cinnamon rolls (I wrote a recipe book all about them here), so this felt like a no-brainer. These beautifully fudgy blondies are made with Kerrygold browned butter, chopped white chocolate chunks and crunchy pecans. Then they're topped with a classic cinnamon roll cream cheese icing and cinnamon sugar swirl.

How to make the best cinnamon roll blondies:

Here are my top tips for the best results to really set you up for success! I like to make sure I stick to these and use the correct tin for blondies that you just can't resist!

1. Use a 9 x 13 inch rectangular baking tin like this! I personally love this Nordicware tin because it comes with a lid for easy storage.

2. Make sure you don't over-bake these cinniamon roll blondies. Over-baking will cause your blondies to be cakey, rather than deliciously fudgy. However, you want to make sure that the centre is well baked and not overly gooey. My tips on how to know that they're ready to come out the oven?

• The top is golden brown and no longer shiny or wet.

• The blondies are shrinking away from the edge of the tin, and cracks have appeared around the edges.

• A skewer or toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean, with only a few crumbs clinging to it

1. Leave these cinnamon roll blondies to cool completely in the tin after baking. I know it's tempting to slice and eat them straight away, but your blondies will still be cooking after they come out the oven. This will ensure you haven't under-baked your blondies and there's no raw mixture. Ideally I leave mine overnight for the best results.

Cinnamon roll blondies

Ingredients and alternatives:

• Chocolate: I like to use white chocolate in this recipe but you can definitely substitute this with milk or a rich, dark chocolate that's 70% or above.

• Nuts: pecans are beautiful and buttery, but walnuts are a great alternative. Equally if you have a nut allergy, or prefer your blondies without a crunch, you can omit the nuts completely.

• Eggs: I'm a huge fan of Clarence Court Burford Browns for their rich, golden yolks. I use large eggs in this recipe, but you can definitely substitute these with medium. Clarence Court also sell cartoned yolks which mean less food waste.

• Butter: Kerrygold butter has a higher fat content than that of normal butters which is why I love to use it. I personally use salted butter in the brown sugar swirl topping but you can substitute this with unsalted butter if that's all you have.

• Maple syrup: maple syrup adds a sweet, distinctive flavour to these blondies with hints of caramel and toffee. You can always leave this out of the topping if you prefer.

• Sugar: for the blondies, golden caster sugar or granulated sugar can be swapped out for the caster sugar. You can also use light brown instead of light muscovado, but I steer away from dark brown sugars in the blondie batter as it can be too sweet. For the topping, use dark brown, molasses sugar, or dark muscovado sugar.

Cinniamon Roll Blondies

These cinnamon roll blondies are made with creamy browned butter, white chocolate chunks, crunchy pecans and have a cream cheese, brown sugar topping.

For the cream cheese topping

• 120 g full-fat cream cheese

• 50 g icing sugar (sifted)

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• Pinch fine sea salt

For the brown sugar swirl

• 50 g dark brown sugar (or muscovado)

• 30 g salted butter (I recommend Kerrygold)

• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon

• 50 ml maple syrup (I recommend Maple Canada UK)

For the blondies

• 280 g plain flour

• 1.5 tsp baking powder

• 225 g unsalted butter

• 200 g caster sugar

• 200 g light brown muscovado sugar

• 1 tbsp vanilla extract

• Pinch fine sea salt

• 2 large eggs

• 4 large egg yolks (Clarence Court sell cartoned yolks)

• 75 g pecans (roughly chopped)

• 150 g white chocolate (roughly chopped)

For the cream cheese topping

For the brown sugar swirl

1. Put the butter, maple syrup and sugar in a small saucepan and set over a low heat on the hob. Melt gently until everything is well combined and then add the ground cinnamon. Set aside.

For the blondies

1. Preheat your oven to 180C / 350F then grease a 9 x 13 inch baking tray and line with parchment.

2. Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl and set aside.

3. Start by browning 170g of the butter over a low heat on the hob. Be patient as it will take a while to turn a deep golden brown, with little flecks in it and give off a beautiful, nutty aroma. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining 55g of butter until melted.

4. Add both the caster sugar and brown sugar to the pan along with the vanilla extract and salt, then stir to combine. Set aside to cool completely.

5. Once cool, add the eggs and egg yolks, whisking until they're fully combined then pour the mixture into a large bowl.

6. Add the sifted flour mixture, folding into the wet ingredients using a rubber spatula until there are no pockets of flour left. Add the chopped white chocolate and pecans, mixing again until evenly distributed.

7. Pour into your prepared tin.

8. Dollop large spoonfuls of the cream cheese topping all over the blondie mix.

9. If your brown sugar mixture has seized a little, pop it back over a low heat on the hob and mix until it's nicely melted again. Drizzle over the blondie mix and use the tip of a knife to swirl the cream cheese and brown sugar into the mixture.

10. Bake for 30-35 minutes until firm and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean, or with only a few crumbs clinging to it.

11. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely in the tin before lifting the blondies out of the pan and cutting into bars, ready to eat.

Adapted from Sarah Kieffer's recipe in 100 Cookies