White Chocolate Gingerbread Blondies

I hope everyone is ready for Christmas!  My friends all gathered at my apartment this week to celebrate together before heading to our respective hometowns.  I went with a mostly dessert theme with a few appetizers in the mix.  The menu included:

Cheese and Fruit Tray
Cranberry Pistachio Baked Brie
White Chocolate Gingerbread Blondies
Cranberry Bliss Bars
Sugar Crusted Ginger Chewies
Sand Dollar Cookies
Homemade Thin Mints
A sampling of appetizers and snacks purchased at Trader Joe's

These blondies were great.  They taste like Christmas -- ginger and spices combined with white chocolate in a chewy blondie.  In case you don't love gingerbread, you could also make my favorite traditional blondie recipe.  A few of my other favorites include the snickerdoodle blondies, white chocolate coconut blondies and pumpkin blondies.

White Chocolate Gingerbread Blondies

Source:  Tracey's Culinary Adventures

Ingredients

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

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

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

1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk

1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/3 cup molasses

10 ounces white chocolate chips

white chocolate, melted, for drizzling (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Line the dish with aluminum foil, leaving overhang on opposite sides so you can easily lift the blondies out. Spray the foil with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and all of the spices.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs and yolk, one at a time, mixing well between each addition and scraping down the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla and molasses. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture, beating just until incorporated. Using a spatula, fold the white chocolate chips into the batter. 

Spread the batter in the prepared baking dish. I wet my fingers and used them to coax the batter into the corners of the pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the edges are golden and begin to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Allow the blondies to cool completely in the baking dish, about 2 hours. Use the foil "handles" to lift the blondies from the dish and cut into squares for serving.  Drizze with white chocolate, if desired.