Holiday Baking: White Chocolate Gingerbread Blondie Recipe

This white chocolate gingerbread blondie recipe won the right to be the selected recipe for both of the cookie exchanges I am participating in this year.  One with the momstown Oakville moms and one with my university girlfriends - looking forward to a stocked freezer!  Gingerbread is an integral holiday flavour and the white chocolate dresses it up a bit.  This square is delicious with a cup of tea, coffee or hot chocolate.  Add a dollop of whipped cream and a drizzle of dark chocolate and its fancy enough to serve for dessert.  The recipe makes 4 dozen.

White Chocolate Gingerbread Blondie Dough

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups plus 1 tbsp all purpose flour

1 1/4 tsp baking soda

1 1/4 ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp cloves

1 1/4 cup butter, room temperature

1 1/4 packed brown sugar

1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp white sugar

2 large eggs and one egg yolk

1 1/4 tsp vanilla

1/3 molasses

1 3/4 cups coarsely chopped white chocolate or white chocolate chips

What you do:

Preheat oven to 350F.  Line a rimmed cookie sheet (12 X 17 inch) with foil and then spray it with cooking spray.

Whisk together the flour, baking soda and spices.

Cream together butter and sugars.  Add eggs and yolk, one at a time.  Add vanilla and molasses and mix until combined.  Add the dry ingredients mixture slowly and mix until combined then stir in the white chocolate.

Spread batter evenly into the pan.  I found the best way to do this is with damp hands and then use a butter knife to smooth it out.  Bake until golden on the edges, 20-25 minutes.  Let cool in the pan completely before cutting.