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5 from 1 vote
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Ingredients
  

Blondie base:

  • 1½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (7.5oz, 213g)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder (3g)
  • ½ teaspoon table salt (3g)
  • 12 tablespoons unsalted butter (6oz, 170g)
  • 1½ cups packed light brown sugar (10.5 oz, 298g)
  • 2 large eggs lightly beaten
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest (3g)
  • ¾ cup dried cranberries loosely packed (3.5oz, 100g)
  • 1⅓ cups white chocolate chopped or white chocolate chips (8oz, 227g)

For the frosting:

  • 1⅔ cups white chocolate melted (10oz, 283g)
  • 8 oz cream cheese softened (227g)
  • 1½ cups confectioners' sugar sifted (6oz, 170g)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 tablespoon orange juice
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest (3g)

For topping:

  • ½ cup dried cranberries loosely packed (2.3oz, 65g)
  • ⅔ cup white chocolate melted (4oz,113g)

Instructions
 

For the Blondie:

  • Adjust oven rack to middle position. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Line a 9 by 13 inch baking pan with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.
  • Brown the butter
  • In a light colored saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. As you continue heating the butter, it will begin to bubble and foam. Stir continuously, pushing the foam out of the way so that you can see the milk solids as they change color. When they turn a golden brown, turn off the heat and transfer the butter to a bowl so that it stops cooking. Let cool.
  • Combine flour, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl.
  • Combine the cooled, melted butter (including the browned solids) and brown sugar together in medium bowl until combined. Add eggs, vanilla, and orange zest and mix well.
  • Using a rubber spatula, fold dry ingredients into egg mixture until just combined; do not overmix. Fold in chocolate and dried cranberries and turn batter into prepared pan, smoothing top with rubber spatula.
  • Bake until top is shiny, cracked, and light golden brown, 22 to 25 minutes; do not overbake. Cool on wire rack to room temperature. Remove bars from pan.

For the frosting:

  • Combine the frosting ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk until well mixed and fluffy.
  • Spread frosting on the cooled bars.

For the topping:

  • Sprinkle dried cranberries over the frosting. You can roughly chop the cranberries if they are too big.
  • Drizzle melted white chocolate over the frosting and dried cranberries *see note
  • Cut into triangles.

Notes

*To drizzle the melted chocolate over the frosting there are several options: Use a piping bag with a plain, round, small tip. Put the melted chocolate into a ziplock bag and cut a very small hole into the corner and use like a piping bag. Dip a fork into the melted chocolate and drizzle it on.
*Plain melted butter can be used instead of browned butter.
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