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Carrot cake meets blondies, and it’s a match made in dessert heaven. These gooey, flavorful bars are sure to satisfy any sweet tooth.

 

Carrot cake is one of my favorite cakes. I love all that spice and tart cream cheese frosting. It used to be our go to cake for birthdays. We’d order one from Costco that had a delicious apricot filling in the middle. It was our first experience with their cakes and definitely not the last! They are budge friendly and delicious.

 

Carrot cakes have all the spices in there, too! That’s also why I like spice cakes. All the spices. They’re so delicious in caked cake. Especially with cream cheese frosting. Without that sweet tart frosting I think a spice or carrot cake wouldn’t be as delicious to me. But I’ve never had it with anything other than cream cheese frosting so I wouldn’t know.

 

 

Who invented carrot cake?

 

Carrot cake has a rich history dating back centuries. It’s related to a medieval times steamed or boiled carrot pudding similar to the pudding I make for Christmas dessert. This pudding isn’t like the pudding you’re thinking of. It’s a steamed pudding which is more cake than pudding. They’re cooked low and slow which allows for the flavors to really meld and come out in every bite.

 

The cake evolved as ovens became readily available. The steamed puddings were replaced by the cakes we know today. Now how it came to be slathered with a sweet and tart cream cheese icing is a topic for another day. That’s probably a history that will also be disputed as to who created it first.

 

 

Who invented blondies?

 

Blondies are a type of brownie that is lighter in color because white chocolate or other ingredients are used. They’re made with brown sugar instead of cocoa or other darker chocolate like semi-sweet or milk. Hence the name blondie. They’re lighter in color and contain nuts and white chocolate or other chips like butterscotch or toffee.

 

The first recipe for blondies is found in an 1896 publication of Fannie Farmer who was a pioneer of modern recipes we still use and eat today. That recipe contained molasses and vanilla instead of cocoa. Since they pre-date the brownie we know today they were originally called brownies. The modern-day brownie wasn’t published for another 10 years.

 

 

Ingredients for carrot cake blondies

 

This recipe is simple. While it has a lot of ingredients, they’re pretty common and not something you shouldn’t already have on hand.

Dry ingredients: flour, ground ginger and cinnamon, salt, and baking powder.
Wet ingredients: butter, brown sugar, vanilla, eggs, carrots, cream cheese, and pecans.
Icing ingredients: cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, and pecans.

 

Instructions for carrot cake blondies

 

First, preheat your oven to 350 F. Then grab 2 mixing bowls and your hand mixer. Cream the butter with the brown sugar and the vanilla until combined. Add in the eggs one at a time making sure to stir well after each addition. Then stir in the carrots. Set the bowl aside.

 

 

Grab the second mixing bowl and combine the dry ingredients, flour through the baking powder, and stir well with a whisk. This aerates the mixture and removes any lumps that could alter the results of your blondies.

 

Finally, stir the dry ingredients and 1/2 cup of chopped pecans into the wet ingredients making sure to stir until just combined. You don’t want to over mix the blondies which can make them dry. Prepare an 8×8 inch baking pan by spraying it with cooking spray or rubbing it with butter or oil. I put some parchment paper in the bottom of mine to make removing the blondies easier after they’ve cooked.

 

Bake the blondies at 350 for 30 to 35 minutes or until a tooth inserted in the center comes out almost completely clean. You don’t want it to be completely clean because that means they will be overcooked by the time they cool. There is carry over cooking in all things including baked goods.

 

 

While the blondies are cooling beat the softened cream cheese with the butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar until creamy. Stir in 1/4 cup of the remaining chopped pecans. Once the blondies are cooled, spread the icing on top and then sprinkle with the remaining chopped pecans.

 

Tips for baking carrot cake blondies

 

Whether you’re a seasoned baker or a beginner in the kitchen, there are a few tips to keep in mind when making carrot cake blondies. First, make sure to finely grate your carrots to ensure they blend thoroughly into the batter which adds moisture to these blondies. Secondly, don’t overmix the batter. Lightly mix them until all the ingredients are incorporated to avoid a tough texture in the final product. For me, I watch the batter as I mix and just as the last bits of flour are gone, I stop mixing. If you continue to stir them gluten will start to form which can make them tough.

 

 

Another tip is to line your baking pan with parchment paper or foil to easily lift the blondies out for cutting and icing. I have difficulties even with an offset spatula to ice baked goods while they’re still in the pan. Finally, feel free to customize your blondies by adding in different chopped nuts, raisins, or even a sprinkling of white chocolate or cinnamon chips.

 

What do carrot cake blondies taste like?

 

Carrot cake blondies offer a unique and delicious flavor profile that combines the warm spices of traditional carrot cake with the rich, buttery goodness of a blondie. The sweetness of the carrots is balanced by the warm cinnamon and ginger spices.

 

 

The added texture from the grated carrots gives each bite the color and flavor of the carrots. The brown sugar provides a rich sweetness like caramel that complements the spices. Finally, there’s the sweet tart cream cheese icing that’s full of vanilla flavor and chopped pecans. The pecans play off the brown sugar in the blondies. Carrot cake blondies are delightfully sweet, with a hint of fall spices, rich caramel flavor and a sweet tart frosting that will leave you coming back for more.

More Fall Flavors Recipes:

• Pumpkin Seed Cranberry Biscotti by Jolene’s Recipe Journal
• Warm Apple Crisp with Oat Topping by Hezzi-D’s Recipe Box
• Creamy Garlic Chicken by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Carrot Cake Blondies by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Cheesy Butternut Squash Pasta by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Old-Fashioned Skillet Goulash by A Little Fish in the Kitchen
• Sweet Potato Sodhi by Magical Ingredients
• Cinnamon Ice Cream by Art of Natural Living
• Octoberfest Stew by Cheese Curd In Paradise
• Apple and Spinach Salad by Palatable Pastime
• Brussels Sprouts with Honey Vinaigrette by The Spiffy Cookie
• Iced Pumpkin Spice Latte by Our Crafty Mom
• Cinnamon Apple Cheesecake by That Recipe