April 3, 2014

Carrot Cake Blondies (with cinnamon cream cheese frosting)

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Carrot Cake Blondies – I love carrot cake – in all forms.

I love blondies – almost too much.

When carrot cake and blondies get married…it’s like a match made in heaven.

These Carrot Cake Blondies are going to be perfect for spring!

The other day I got a comment on Facebook asking why there is so much carrot cake and lemon going around the internet right now. The answer?

Easter. Spring.

Like gingerbread is for Christmas, red velvet is for Valentine’s Day, carrot cake is an Easter thing. Why? I have no idea.

I’m assuming it’s because the Easter bunny is a bunny and bunnies like carrots. Hence, all things carrot cake. And I’m okay with that. I hope you are too, because this latest carrot cake creation is one of my favorites.

Carrot Cake Blondies. It’s like a blondie…but it’s carrot cake. I almost called these carrot cake bars because they’re more cake-like than a traditional chewy blondie, but I couldn’t do it.

These started with a blondie recipe and by gosh, I’m going to call them carrot cake blondies!

My blondie recipe is full of brown sugar and butter. (That’s what makes them to die for!) Then I added cinnamon and carrots. You an add nuts and raisins if you want. I didn’t think to add nuts and I hate raisins…so that’s my excuse for why there are none.

You know what makes these bars? THE FROSTING.

It’s a cinnamon frosting. Made with cream cheese and a secret: melted butter.

Oh my word. Make the frosting and eat it with a spoon, no joke.

These bars are fine alone…but they’re complete with the frosting, so don’t skip it. Why would you? It’s amazing.

These are the perfect bars for Easter or any time you want carrot cake. Luckily, it’s perfectly acceptable to make it all year long. It’s something my husband will actually eat, so I make these Carrot Cake Blondies as often as I can. 🙂

Enjoy!

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Carrot Cake Blondies

Carrot cake meets blondies in this recipe! A brown sugar blondie made with carrots becomes the soft and gooey cross between a carrot cake bar and your favorite chewy bar. The frosting is the best part!

Ingredients

Blondies:

2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter — softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 cups grated carrots — from 3-4 medium carrots
2 cups flour

Frosting:

1/4 cup unsalted butter — melted
4 ounces regular or reduced-fat cream cheese, very soft but not melted
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 inch pan with cooking spray.
Whisk baking powder, salt, and flour in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Cream brown sugar and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until combined. Mix in dry ingredients. Stir in carrots.
Press into prepared pan (dough is sticky, spray your hands with cooking spray to avoid it sticking to your hands).
Bake at 350 for about 25-30 minutes. (Be careful not to overcook - the center will still be jiggly when you take these out of the oven and they will finish cooking and firming up as they cool. They stay super soft though!)
Cool completely in pan before frosting.
Make your frosting: Make sure your cream cheese is super soft. If it’s not, you can remove it from the package and heat it on HIGH in the microwave for about 10 seconds to soften it. You want it very soft but not melted.
Whisk cream cheese and butter together (you can also use a hand mixer). Whisk in powdered sugar. Add vanilla and cinnamon and whisk until smooth. Frost bars in pan.
You can eat these right after frosted and they’ll be gooey and good. Or, chill until the frosting sets and then slice and eat. Your preference!