Friday 2 October 2015

Snickerdoodle Blondies.

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Guys, can you believe I had never baked or even eaten a blondie?!
There's a very good reason as to why that is.
You see, I was kinda distracted by the blondies well-loved cousin, the brownie.


When I looked into the blondie, it seemed to tick all the right boxes though. The texture of a brownie but instead of its deep chocolate flavour, in the blondie, vanilla reigns supreme.

Well, when I realised that, I just had to bake a batch. I love chocolate as much as the next person but I've always had a soft spot for good old vanilla.
Around the same time that I was looking into blondies, I had a craving for these cookies. So I put the two together and the snickerdoodle blondies were born. Squidgy, sweet cake bars filled with the warming spice that is cinnamon - perfect for these cold October days.

Blondies, previously: None!
Snickerdoodle, previously: in cookie form!

A Simple List of Ingredients:
1. Plain Flour
2. Salt
3. Baking Powder
4. Ground Cinnamon
5. Soft Light Brown Sugar
6. Unsalted Butter
7. Eggs
8. Vanilla Essence
9. Caster Sugar

Bismillah, let's begin!

First job, of course, pre-heat the oven to 180C / Gas Mark 4. Take a baking tin measuring 9x13 inches (33 x 22 cm). I got mine from here and I love it!

Grease it, line it and set aside.

We're going to make the cinnamon blondie base first. We'll begin by stirring together all the dry ingredients - it just makes everything way easier later on.

So into a large bowl goes 345 grams Plain Flour. For cup and ounce measurements, see the written recipe at the end of the post.

Measure out 1 teaspoon Salt.

In it goes.

A little raising agent in the form of 2 teaspoons Baking Powder.

Throw it on in.

Since these are snickerdoodle blondies, it's time for the cinnamon. Measure out 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon.

And, that's the dry stuff done.

Give it a quick whisk and set aside.

Now since the butter and sugar has to be beaten together for 5 minutes, I used an electric mixer but feel free to do this by hand.

Speaking of sugar, it's time for the light brown soft variety. This will give the blondies their distinctive colour and caramel-like flavour.

Into the bowl, place 350 grams Soft Light Brown Sugar.

Where there is sugar, butter is never far behind.

Measure out 226 grams Unsalted Butter, softened. I cubed mine up to make it easier to beat.

In it goes.

Beat the butter and sugar together for 5 minutes - I set the timer on my phone for this one.

Until it is well combined and super creamy.

Next, it's time for 2 large Eggs.

Crack them one by one.

Add it in.

Combine.

And, then add in the second.

Time for the vanilla!

Plenty of it too - 1 tablespoon Vanilla Essence.

In she goes!

And, mix.

Next, grab the dry ingredients that we prepped earlier.

Gradually add in the dry ingredients.

Mix with the electric mixer until you get a batter that looks like this.

Scrape it into the prepared cake tin.

It'll be quite stiff. So stiff in fact, that my palette knife could stand up in it.

Spread the batter out ..

.. until it's lovely and even.

Now you could bake the blondie as it is, and it would be delicious. But we're going for the snickerdoodle effect which means dousing it liberally with cinnamon sugar.

So measure out 2 tablespoons Caster Sugar.

And, place it into a small bowl.

Next, 2 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon.

In it goes. By the way guys, since it's autumn and all, feel free to switch the cinnamon in this recipe for pumpkin pie spice.

Give it a good stir and there you have it - cinnamon sugar.

All you do now is ...

... sprinkle the whole thing over your batter.

And, pop it into bake. This beauty bakes at 180C / Gas Mark 4 for 25-30 minutes.

I let mine go for 25 minutes because I wanted the middle to be slightly squidgy to get that brownie-like texture.

You'll know it's done when your house smells better than any autumn candle and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean with maybe a few crumbs on it.

Let it cool before slicing. As you can tell, none of us in this house have any self-control.

These blondies can be sliced into 12 large squares or 24 bars as I did later by slicing each square in half.

Guys, these blondies were amazing - a nice change from the usual cake. Also feel free to throw in nuts into the batter, if you want.
May I suggest a sprinkling of chocolate chips? We have to keep the brownie relation going somehow!

Full Written Recipe:


Snickerdoodle Blondies.

Prep Time: About 15 minutes.
Bake Time: About 25-30 minutes.
Serves: Cuts into 12 large squares.

Ingredients

For the Cinnamon Blondie Base
345 grams (12 ounces or 2 and 2/3 cups) Plain Flour
1 teaspoon Salt
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
350 grams (12 ounces or 2 cups) Soft Light Brown Sugar
226 grams (8 ounces) Unsalted Butter, softened
2 large Eggs
1 tablespoon Vanilla Essence

For the Cinnamon Sugar Topping
2 tablespoons Caster Sugar
2 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180C / Gas Mark 4. Grease and line a 9x13 inch baking tin.

To make the cinnamon blondie base, in a bowl, whisk together the plain flour, salt, baking powder and ground cinnamon. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat together the brown sugar and butter for 5 minutes with an electric mixer.
Then, add in the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition. Pour in the vanilla and mix.
Finally, gradually stir in the dry ingredients with an electric mixer until just combined.

Spread the batter into the prepared tin and spread out. The batter will be quite stiff.
To make the cinnamon sugar topping, mix the sugar and cinnamon together. Sprinkle it evenly over the batter.


Bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool, slice and enjoy!

{Heavily Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker}

This Time One Year Ago:
Frozen Cranberries + Collecting Conkers + Butterflies

This Time Two Years Ago:
Chocolate Brownies

This Time Three Years Ago:
Sweet + Salty Chocolate Bars

Keep me in your duas, please, and enjoy your blondies,

Wasalaam!


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