Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Perfect balance of spicy and sweet. The addition of white chocolate is dreamy.
Texture: Chewy, soft, melty (from the chocolate), and all-around wonderful.
Ease: Very easy.
Pros: Perfect treat for this time of year. Makes your house smell glorious. They stay good for a long time.
Cons: None.
Would I make this again? Yes.
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These Gingerbread White Chocolate Blondies pack all the most quintessential Christmas flavors into one chewy, flavorful, easy bake!
If you take a look at these blondies you might actually think they’re brownies.
They’re nearly as dark as brownies! But instead of cocoa, they’re loaded with warm and comforting gingerbread flavors.
Truly, there’s almost nothing that smells as heavenly as these blondies while baking. In fact, the day we shot the photos for these blondies, we were prepping multiple other ingredients. I forgot the blondies were in the oven and exclaimed, “What smells SO good?”
Then I remembered it was the blondies and got that much more excited to eat one.
Haley from team HTH said her husband raved over these blondies when she took some home to him. He said they were one of the BEST things he’s ever eaten!
This may become your new favorite Christmas dessert. These blondies are easy to make, super flavorful, and ridiculously chewy. What more could you want?!
How to Make Gingerbread White Chocolate Blondies
What Makes These Blondies so Dark?!
These Gingerbread White Chocolate Blondies basically look like brownies. That’s thanks to the molasses in the batter as well as the spices. But there’s actually no cocoa powder or melted chocolate mixed into the batter.
What Kind of Molasses Should I Use?
It wouldn’t be gingerbread anything without molasses as a key ingredient. Unfortunately, there aren’t any substitutes that provide the same flavor and texture. Be sure to use unsulphured molasses and not blackstrap molasses, which is extremely bitter. You can find molasses at the grocery store next to the other sweeteners and baking ingredients.
The Spices in Gingerbread White Chocolate Blondies
Check your spices to ensure they’re not expired. Even if they’re not expired, give them a sniff and make sure they’re still very aromatic. Older spices carry less flavor; fresh spices will carry a LOT more flavor. So, just be aware of that and feel free to adjust the spice levels accordingly.
Why I Always Use a *Metal* Baking Pan for Blondies (Not Glass!)
- To make sure the blondies cook completely and hold their shape while remaining soft and a little gooey, I highly recommend using a quality metal baking pan, like this one.
- Avoid glass or ceramic pans as those materials take longer to heat up and cook. This often leads to the center being undercooked by the time the edges start to dry out.
- If you must use glass or ceramic, drop the baking temperature by about 15°F and increase the baking time by 5-10 minutes.
Can I Halve This Recipe?
Yes, though there are some tricky measurements to halve. For the eggs, simply cut it to 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk. For the molasses, use 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons. Bake in an 8 by 8-inch metal baking pan for about 20 to 25 minutes.
How to Tell When Gingerbread Blondies are Done Baking
- These blondies take just about 27 minutes to bake.
- They’re done when the crust is very slightly jiggly and shiny on top, and the edges look solidified.
- You want to be careful not to overcook these and dry them out. The residual heat will continue to cook the blondies so even if they seem just slightly underdone in the center, go ahead and remove them from the oven. They’ll also solidify more as they cool.
- It is normal if the center of your blondies sink slightly after cooling.
How to Store Gingerbread White Chocolate Blondies
Store Gingerbread White Chocolate Blondies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Can I Freeze Gingerbread White Chocolate Blondies?
You can also freeze Gingerbread White Chocolate Blondies (whole or sliced) for up to 3 months in an airtight container. Thaw to room temperature and rewarm in the microwave if desired. I also like to chop these blondies up into small pieces, freeze them in a zip top bag, and stir them into ice cream.
More Gingerbread Recipes:
More Christmas Dessert Recipes:
P.S. Check out ALL my Christmas desserts HERE!
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Gingerbread White Chocolate Blondies
Ingredients
- 2 cups (254 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 1/4 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 sticks (227 grams) unsalted butter
- 1 1/4 cups (250 grams) packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup (112 grams) unsulfured molasses
- 2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups (255 grams) white chocolate chips
- Flaky sea salt, for finishing, if desired
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9 by 13-inch metal baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang. If you must use glass or ceramic, drop the baking temperature by about 15°F and increase the baking time by 5-10 minutes.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and spices. Set aside.
- In a small saucepan set over medium heat, or in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave, heat the butter until melted. Add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and molasses and whisk well until combined. Let cool slightly, then add eggs, yolk, and vanilla, whisking until combined. Stir in flour mixture with a rubber spatula until just combined. Do not overmix. Stir in white chocolate chips.
- Spread batter evenly into prepared pan and bake until the edges are solidified and the center is very slightly jiggly, about 27 minutes. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt if desired. Let cool completely before cutting into 2-inch squares. It is normal for the center to sink slightly while cooling. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
This post was originally published in 2011 and updated in 2021 with recipe improvements and new photos. Photos by Joanie Simon | The Bite Shot.
December 2022 Baking Challenge
This recipe was our December 2022 pick for our monthly Baking Challenge! Every month you can join the challenge by baking the recipe and snapping a photo for a chance to win prizes! Learn more about my monthly baking challenges here. Check out everyone’s blondies:
My house smells like Christmas and my tastebuds are satisfied with the perfect
Blend of gingerbread flavor! I was worried that white chocolate chips would be too sweet, but they worked! Yum!
This brownie is definitely on the decadently sweet side that will pair great with coffee. The prep time is short and sweet and very easy to make. I’ve already made this two times already and plan on making more for Xmas.
Yay! So thrilled you enjoy these blondies so much, Mae!
I was wondering if there’s a way to reduce the sugar without losing anything from the recipe. Any recommendations?
These turned out reasonably well, with and without altitude adjusting. Metal pan still produced overcooked edges and soft center. Second time around I adjusted for 7,500’ and covered the pan with a baking sheet on a close rack above the blondies. It helped some. Next time I’ll try the original temperature and time. I also placed a round dough cutter in the middle of the pan to increase heat to the center. If it helped, it wasn’t apparent.
I have a couple of critiques of the recipe itself. One, is the bowl and saucepan should be LARGE. Don’t try this with small items! A medium saucepan works, but the melted butter splashes quite a bit. I also think the salt should be reduced to a teaspoon or less.
And suggestions, since I’m experimenting anyway: a shot of espresso adds flavor as well as altitude moisture. Some leftover macadamia nuts add a crunch and a flavor that pair nicely with the white chocolate chips.
the are a 5 star for flavor and I am not a ginger fan. They need to bake longer than 27 in my oven. I have a thermometer in it so I know the right temp. I cooked them longer then left them in the pan per the recipe. Mine do not look like other photos. the edges seem better, but the ones in the middle still look like raw batter or molasses. It isn’t the outcome I was expecting.
Hi JCole! I’m sorry to hear that these blondies didn’t turn out as you were hoping! If there were patches that seemed like pure molasses, it could be that your bowl needed to be scraped down a little more frequently while mixing, to ensure all the butter and molasses, and everything else, were well incorporated. We are always so hyper-focused on ensuring we don’t overmix, that sometimes we accidentally undermix, leading to pockets of ingredients that bake up strangely. Also, how do you measure your ingredients? By volume (using cups), or by weight (using a digital kitchen scale)? When measuring by volume, it’s so easy to mis-measure flour/sugar/etc and throw off the entire chemistry of a recipe. Tessa talks about how to best measure ingredients to ensure accuracy every time, in this article here! I’m glad you still enjoyed the flavor of these blondies, though! I hope something here helped and you give them another try sometime 🙂
so delish, everyone loved them! I used golden syrup instead of treacle – personal taste. Will make these again!
These blondies are perfectly spiced and satisfyingly chewy. The middle pieces are just as yummy as the edges. Great twist on classic gingerbread. I will be making them again!
These were so good and easy to make! It smelled so good while it was baking!
These were such a hit at our early holiday get together.
funny thing is you kind of get two treats in one. I trimmed off the edges to make them pretty and cut the edges into sticks. some ppl love the pretty blondies and some like the more crunchy edge “sticks”…. a win-win in my book!
These are so good!! The best thing I’ve made this December!!
Made these for my husband’s company holiday party and people were coming up to me all night RAVING about them!! Couldn’t have been easier nor more delicious.
Really good flavor, nice chewiness. I made them in a made-for-brownies pan with the sections, like the old ice cube trays. A disaster! The edge one got a bit overdone while the ones in the middle with their own separater “fins” were underdone. Than pan is tossed now!
These are awesome! If you need a hit of gingerbread flavor, this is the recipe to make! I not only love the flavor, but the fact that they’re so easy to make is a real perk – not to mention a time saver in the kitchen. I’ll be taking these lovelies to the choir party tomorrow night. Thanks Tessa!