These indulgent and sweetly spiced bars are a grab-and-go take on the beloved carrot cake.
Carrot Cake Blondies
Makes 12
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 2½ cups firmly packed dark brown sugar, divided
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, divided
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups finely shredded carrots
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 egg yolks
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 9x9-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Spray with baking spray with flour.
- In large bowl, stir together melted butter and 2 cups brown sugar. Add eggs, 2 tablespoons vanilla, flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt, stirring until well combined and smooth. Fold in carrots until incorporated.
- In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, egg yolks, remaining ½ cup brown sugar, and remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla, stirring until smooth.
- Spread half of carrot mixture in prepared pan. Drop spoonfuls of half of cream cheese mixture over top. Drop spoonfuls of remaining carrot mixture on top. Add spoonfuls of remaining cream cheese mixture on top. Using a knife, swirl batters together on top.
- Bake until lightly browned and set in the center, 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Cut into squares.
Notes
Kitchen Tip: Make sure your 9x9-inch pan is at least 2 inches deep so that there’s plenty of room for these dense and delicious blondies.
Can’t wait to try these brownies. Could pumpkin substitute for the carrots and still have a blondie texture?
Hi Barbara,
Thank you for reaching out. We have never tested this recipe with pumpkin instead of carrot. We would not recommend using canned pumpkin in this recipe. You could experiment with grated fresh pumpkin. Pumpkin has a much higher water content than carrots so the ratios of the recipe would be affected.
If you are looking for a bar with more pumpkin spice flavors, you could substitute the spices in this recipe with about 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice.