White Chocolate Gingerbread Blondies (Day 3 of 12 Cookies of Christmas)

Day 3!

After a bit of stress and a couple mishaps on Day 2, I was a little worried about baking for Day 3. I didn’t think I could handle another failure. Especially when I was trying to bake before work to make sure I got it done on time. But fortunately, after a brief panic that I didn’t have TWO of the main ingredients I needed (white chocolate and molasses-- both pretty essential in a white chocolate gingerbread blondie), I managed to scrounge up what I needed. And it was smooth sailing after that!

I’m not normally the biggest fan of white chocolate, but it works really well in these blondies. They’re not too sweet, not too spiced—just the perfect balance of flavor. Although they’re a little on the thin side (baked in a 12X17” rimmed baking sheet, rather than the usual 8X8” or 9X13” pan), they’re moist and chewy and bake more than enough for your holiday guests to indulge in more than one. And they will. (I got 32 out of my batch, and some of them were still big enough to cut in half again.) To make them even more festive for your holiday party, use a cookie cutter to cut them into fun shapes like actual gingerbread men!

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White Chocolate Gingerbread Blondies
Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Cookies
Makes about 32 bars



2 ¾ cups plus 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
1 ¼ teaspoons salt
1 ¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 ¼ cups (2 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ¼ cups packed light brown sugar
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1 ¼ teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsulfured molasses
1 ¾ cups white chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Coat a 12x17” rimmed baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray or butter. Line with parchment paper, coating the paper with nonstick spray or butter as well; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, beating until combined and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add vanilla and molasses and mix until combined. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, beating until just combined. Stir in white chocolate chips.
4. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan, using a large offset spatula, and bake until golden on edges, about 23 to 25 minutes. Let cool completely in pan on wire racks. Once cooled, cut into 2 inch squares, or press cookie cutters into pan to cut out shapes.

Looking for more cookie ideas? Keep checking back for more of the 12 Cookies of Christmas!