Blondies

Carrot Cake Blondies

I am ever surrounded by strong, determined, multi-tasking women. We work at home, we work at our jobs, we work at the gym, we work at our families, and finally, at the end of the day, we work to make ourselves finally relax and unwind. Yes, for some of us, down time is actually hard.

I have a friend in Pennsylvania who’s younger brother has this amazing ability to nap. Anywhere, anytime. My son can sleep in for hours beyond my internal alarm clock. I vaguely remember my mom waking me up with the vacuum cleaner at some point in my high school years, because even though it was summer and I didn’t have to work, no one should be in bed after 9 am.

I am envious of those people. The sleepers. The ones who can sit on a couch with the intention of resting. In a weird creepy but un-creepy way, I want to snuggle next to them and learn their magic. The magic of the sleep. There is nothing like a warm sunbeam and soft breathing and rest. It is truly one of my ultimate goals.

That being said, with all of the working and the being strong and the multi-tasking, sometimes we need to just take the easy way out. For example. We reheat the leftovers or eat cereal for supper. We sweep but don’t wash the floor. We pull the sheets up but don’t necessarily smooth everything out underneath when we make the bed. We buy the pre-shredded carrots or potatoes for recipes. And it is all OK.

While this recipe isn’t necessarily easy (as in box mix easy) it is easy when compared to making a carrot cake. So I say yay. And no one will find it lacking, I promise. I PROMISE.

Now the world is divided into Carrot Cake lovers and haters. You choose your side. While I don’t want it more than say my banana cake, I do love a slice of carrot cake every now and then. As spring promises to be around the corner (sort of…who are we kidding there is still snow on the ground) Carrot Cake seems like the perfect Easter-y brunch-y dessert.

And then, this baby is covered in a thick, cream cheese frosting, so you can’t say no.  Cream cheese frosting is like the mortar that holds all of life together. You can literally spread it on a piece of raw celery and you will be happy.  Cream cheese frosting is the pinnacle of all desserts. OK, I’m over reacting a bit. No, I am not.

This is a one bowl mix it all in, bake in under an hour dessert.

I did grate the carrots myself, because I like a fine grate and the pre-shredded carrots are too big for me. But that is me. I packed the cup measurement, because carrots mean moisture and that is never a bad thing in a blondie.

The recipe calls for chopped pecans, and all of the spices you expect in carrot cake. It delivers. Oh so moist. Oh so flavorful. Oh so almost healthy if you forget the sugar, butter, and cream cheese frosting. Make it anyway.

I will say the original recipe (bakerbynature.com) which is from an amazing website I love called for a 9X9″ pan. My pan was smaller 8X8, and my dessert ended up being higher in the pan and therefore I sliced them smaller. I will be questing for a larger pan so I can make these again.

After the dessert cools, you slather up that frosting and go to town. I topped my squares with a half pecan for the pretty factor, but it doesn’t need to be pretty, it is delicious. I will always choose delicious over pretty, and this blog is about shortcuts, so save the decorations for when you have more time.

I may never be a great napper, I will always be a multi-tasker, but I will also choose the easy way out on occasion. I am only one woman after all. We deserve the good desserts too, even if they don’t have layers and piped baby carrots out of fondant on it.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and as always, thank you for coming to the table!

Chrissy

Click below for a printable recipe.

Carrot Cake Blondies and the Easy Way Out

Print Recipe

Adapted original recipe from www.bakerbynature.com These rich, decadent carrot cake blondies have all of the magic of carrot cake without all of the hard work. Rich, cream cheese frosting tops the magic and makes this one amazing dessert.

• Author: chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

•  1 Cup Melted Butter (8 ounces)
• 1 1/2 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
• 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 1 Large Egg and 1 Large Egg Yolk
• 1 Packed Cup of finely grated carrot
• 1 1/2 Cups of Flour plus 2 Tablespoons
• 1 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
• 1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
• 3/4 Cup Chopped Pecans

Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 8 Ounces (One block) of Cream Cheese, softened
• 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 2 Cups Confectioner’s Sugar

 

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350*
2. Line a 9×9″ baking pan with parchment paper (my pan was 8×8″).
3. In a mixer with a paddle attachment, combine melted butter, brown sugar, and vanilla until combined and smooth.
4. Add in eggs and grated carrot. Combine.
5. Add spices and dry ingredients.
6. Fold in chopped pecans.
7. Pour batter into parchment lined pan, and smooth.
8. Bake for 32-35 minutes, or until the center is set (and tester comes out clean).
9. Cool completely in pan before removing in frosting.
10. To make frosting, combine cream cheese, vanilla, and powdered sugar until combined.
11. Cut into squares and serve.