Strawberry Shortcake Blondies
Strawberry Shortcake Blondies- An alternative dessert for the chocolate haters, these golden bars are loaded with strawberry jam and sweet white chocolate.
July 14, 2022 by Nicole Collins
Did you know I have a running list of recipes to test?
I constantly have recipe ideas running through my head. We all know I find inspiration in the oddest places sometimes. So, I have a text list with myself of recipe ideas that has years’ worth of ideas.
The problem with not being a full time blogger is that there are only so many hours in the day to work on recipes for me. I get two days…Saturdays and Sundays. And somehow, I have to figure out have to create, test, photograph, video, edit, type, and write every single recipe and blog post you see here.
All while pretending I have even a blip of a social life.
Because of all of these things, sooooo many recipes get lost in the dust. I’m excited about them and they’re all I can think about until the next better idea comes along that pushes its way to priority in my brain.
You almost didn’t get today’s recipe. And that would’ve been a darn shame.
This one kind of got lost in the archives. But I saw some jam in my pantry, remembered my plan, and here we are.
So today, we’re making Strawberry Shortcake Blondies!
While this recipe is an epic one for all of us, this one is specifically for the chocolate haters. These sweet, chewy, golden bars are like brownies on opposite day as far as texture. Plus, they’re swirled with a healthy dose of strawberry preserves and studded with white chocolate chips to create any sweet lover’s dream.
Let’s start with the blondie batter. There are really no skills or special equipment required here. We just need some bowls, a whisk, and that’s it. We’ll start by mixing our dry ingredients which is simply some flour, baking powder and salt. Set them aside for just a sec, and we’ll get to work on our wet ingredients.
We’re going to mix our wet ingredients in stages. First, we’ll mix some brown sugar into some melted butter. Then, we’ll whisk some vanilla into that mix. Then, we’ll whisk a couple of eggs into the mix. We don’t want to mix everything all at once, because we don’t want to scramble our eggs in the hot melted butter. Mixing the wet ingredients in one at a time gives the butter a chance to cool down enough that the eggs won’t have to fight for their lives in the batter.
From there, we’ll whisk our dry ingredients into the wet, and stir everything until they’re just combined. Then, we’ll transfer the batter into either a greased or a parchment lined baking pan. And, it’s time for our final touches before baking.
These are strawberry bars, after all. So, we’re going to swirl some strawberry preserves to the top of our batter so that strawberry goodness touches each delicious bite. For easy swirling, I like to pop the preserves in the microwave for just a couple of minutes to help loosen them up. Then we’ll drop little dollops all over the batter, and we’ll use a knife to gently swirl the strawberry into the mix. We’ll finish it all off by giving the blondies a light sprinkling of white chocolate chips. And, to the oven they go to bake until they’re perfectly golden and gooey.
These blondies are such a treat. They are SWEET. That’s for sure. The lack of chocolate does not mean lack of sweetness by any means. But, they’re the best kind of sweet. The slightly acidic touch from the strawberries helps to break up all that sugar adding the perfect balance while adding a touch of freshness. And, those strawberry swirls sink to the bottom a little bit so that sweet essence isn’t solely in the top layer of the blondie. The white chocolate adds another dimension that doesn’t overpower the blondie but compliments it the way whipped cream compliments traditional shortcake.
Alright, everyone. My cookie butter blondies are one of the most popular recipes on my site, so let’s see if this one beats them out!
I hope you enjoy! And, let’s eat!
Strawberry Shortcake Blondies
Serves: 16 Print
Ingredients:
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, melted
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ cup strawberry preserves
1/8 cup white chocolate chips
cooking spray
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray the bottom and sides of a 9x9 square baking pan with cooking spray, and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
To a mixing bowl, add flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine. Set aside.
To another mixing bowl, add melted butter and brown sugar. Whisk well until fully combined. Add vanilla, and whisk. Add in eggs, and whisk quickly and constantly until the eggs are fully incorporated into the mix. Add flour mix, and whisk just until the flour is incorporated and there are no more white streaks in the mix, being careful not to over mix the batter. Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan.
Place preserves in a small bowl, and microwave for 10-15 seconds until slightly thinned out and easy to stir. Add dollops of preserves to the batter, and use a butter knife to swirl the strawberry into the batter. Top with white chocolate chips. Bake for 35-45 minutes until the center is just set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. Cool completely before cutting and serving. Enjoy!
Recipe notes:
*It's important to make sure we don't mix the eggs into piping hot butter. That will cook and scramble the eggs. By whisking in the sugar and vanilla first, the butter has a few seconds to slightly cool. Whisking in the eggs quickly also helps to temper them so that they don't curdle.
*Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for about 4-5 days.
