Cinnamon 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.
Ingredients
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
Instructions
For the cream cheese topping
- Sift the icing sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer and add the cream cheese, vanilla and sea salt. Mix to combine for a minute or so.
For the brown sugar swirl
- 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
- Preheat your oven to 180C / 350F then grease a 9 x 13 inch baking tray and line with parchment.
- Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl and set aside.
- 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.
- 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.
- Once cool, add the eggs and egg yolks, whisking until they're fully combined then pour the mixture into a large bowl.
- 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.
- Pour into your prepared tin.
- Dollop large spoonfuls of the cream cheese topping all over the blondie mix.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Notes
Adapted from Sarah Kieffer's recipe in 100 Cookies