Gingerbread Blondies 

Updated Feb. 3, 2025

Gingerbread Blondies 
Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist:Samantha Seneviratne.
Total Time
45 minutes, plus cooling
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
40 minutes, plus cooling
Rating
5(2,094)
Comments
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With the chewy texture of the best fudgy brownie and all the festive flavors of your favorite gingerbread cookies, these spicy bars make a bold statement for the holidays. Browning the butter gives them a deep, caramelized flavor, which rounds out the warming brown sugar and fragrant spices. The white chocolate drizzle on top is purely for looks, so feel free to leave it out if you’re short on time. These bars taste just as good without it.

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Ingredients

Yield:12 to 16 squares 
  • 1cup/225 grams unsalted butter, plus more for preparing the pan
  • packed cups/330 grams dark brown sugar
  • 2tablespoons molasses 
  • 1tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
  • 2large eggs 
  • 2tablespoons vanilla extract (or bourbon or espresso) 
  • 2cups/255 grams all-purpose flour 
  • 2teaspoons baking powder 
  • 2teaspoons ground ginger 
  • 1teaspoon ground cinnamon 
  • ¾teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
  • ¼teaspoon ground allspice 
  • ¼teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
  • Pinch of ground cloves 
  • ¾cup chopped toasted walnuts or pecans (optional) 
  • 2ounces white or dark chocolate, melted, for decorating (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (14 servings)

363 calories; 20 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 43 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 27 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 174 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-9-inch pan and line with parchment paper.

  2. Step 2

    In a small saucepan, heat the butter over medium until melted and flecked with darker brown bits, 5 to 7 minutes. Pour brown butter into a large bowl and add brown sugar, molasses and grated ginger. Whisk until combined (it won't look smooth) and let cool for a few minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Add eggs and vanilla extract, and whisk until smooth and glossy.

  4. Step 4

    Add the flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, salt, allspice, black pepper and cloves. Whisk well to combine. Stir in nuts, if using.

  5. Step 5

    Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until the edges are firm but the center is still slightly damp, 18 to 25 minutes (add about 5 to 10 minutes if using a glass or ceramic pan). Do not overbake. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool. Let blondies cool completely in the pan.

  6. Step 6

    Once blondies are completely cool, use a fork, spoon or filled parchment cone to decorate the top of the blondies with melted white or dark chocolate if you like. Let chocolate set for at least 2 hours before cutting into bars.

Tip
  • Blondies will keep in a closed container for up to 5 days at room temperature.

Ratings

5 out of 5
2,094 user ratings
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Comments

If you add the dry spices to the browned butter (even before adding the sugar and molasses), they will bloom and you'll end up with an intensified aroma and better impact of the spices overall.

Drizzle with a sharp lemon icing instead of chocolate.

Another trick with parchment: If you line the pan with 2 strips at right angles, you dont need to grease the pan to hold them in place. Just use clothes pins, document clips, or chip clis to fasten the strips to the sides of your pan. Remove the clips after you sread the batter. The weight of the batter will keep the parch in place, and you may not need to wash the pan at all.

Have made these several times now because they’re just SO good. Always double the recipe, but use 2 pans to avoid soggy middle. Definitely need to add to cooking time as others have noted. Parchment paper at right angles works well, no greasing needed. I highly recommend drizzling a lemon glaze. No chocolate. And finally, they freeze perfectly and are still delicious months later.

Took about 10 minute longer to bake for me. But it was delicious!

20/10 but the oven time always makes mine come out raw - I add 20 minutes of bake time - every time.

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