White Chocolate-Gingerbread Blondies

I wanted to make some holiday treats for my girlfriends and wanted something christmasy, like gingerbread. But I've made a lot of gingerbread cookies this year, so I wanted something different. I came across this recipe and I had all the ingredients on hand, so I gave it a go.

White Chocolate-Gingerbread Blondies

Martha Stewart

vegetable oil cooking spray

2 3/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

2 1/2 sticks (20 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk

1 1/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/3 cup unsulfured molasses

10 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped or a bag of white chocolate chips works just as well

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 17-by-12-inch rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. I only had a 13-by-9-inch baking pan, so I used that instead, which resulted in fatter blondies, but it still worked. Line the bottom with parchment cut to fit. Put a bit of butter on the other side of the parchment (or spray with cooking spray) so the parchment sticks to the pan and isn't sliding around when you are pouring in the batter.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and spices in a separate bowl. Beat butter and the brown and granulated sugars with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy.

Add eggs and the extra yolk one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla and molasses. Reduce speed to low. Gradually add the flour mixture and beat until just combined. Stir in white chocolate.

Spread batter into prepared pan. Bake until edges are golden, about 25 minutes. Because I used a smaller pan, I had to bake this for longer than 25 minutes, since my blondies ended up being thicker. So just be sure to keep on eye on them. Sorry, I didn't keep track of the total time.

Let the blondies cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Cut into 2-inch squares or desired shape. Blondies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

The girls and my cousins really liked the blondies, so this recipe is a keeper.