White Chocolate Cranberry Blondies are loaded with white chocolate chips, and dried cranberries.  These are soft, chewy, and perfect for the holidays.  

White Chocolate Cranberry Blondies

I recently shared this Cheesy Taco Soup and my experience from our retreat that we had in Malibu.  I became a flavor expert as I put all of the McCormick spices and vanilla extract to the test.  It was so fun spending the day together and learning all of insider tips to become a flavor expert.  One thing that really stood out to me was the vanilla tasting.  You really wouldn’t think to do a taste test with vanilla and compare with the competitor brand.   We started by smelling the vanilla and McCormick’s pure vanilla had such a stronger scent.  Then we got to taste it!  We all couldn’t believe the difference between the two and how McCormick’s pure vanilla stood out completely.  The flavor was so much more prominent between the two.

I left that retreat even more passionate about McCormick products and quite honestly, I couldn’t wait to get baking!  It is so important to me to have quality ingredients in the recipes that I create and using high quality pure vanilla extract matters in your baking.  The flavor difference with the competitor vanilla completely blew me away.  It’s so important to bring out that vanilla flavor in the baking recipes that we love.  We can always count on McCormick to be committed to bringing us high quality ingredients from source to bottle.

Things to know about McCormick’s Pure Vanilla:

• It is derived from the finest quality imported vanilla beans.
• It has a rich, sweet, and subtle flavor.
• McCormick’s Vanilla is made without artificial flavor.
• Non-GMO and gluten free.
• It is the perfect to enhance desserts and really bring out amazing flavor.

How to make white chocolate cranberry blondies:

This recipe is so easy it can be made in ONE bowl!

• Add melted butter and brown sugar to a large bowl. Stir until mixed and then add egg and McCormick’s Pure Vanilla Extract.
• Stir those ingredients vigorously until incorporated and then fold in the flour. You want to stir until the batter pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
• Last but not least, stir in the white chocolate chips and dried cranberries!
• Mix and bake

How do I bake a blondie?

I recommend lining a pan with parchment paper before baking your blondies — this will make removal and clean-up a cinch!

Pour your batter into the lined pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick when inserted into the center comes out clean.

Tips for making the perfect blondies:

• Precise measuring – if you use too much flour, you’ll end up with dense bars. Spoon your flour into the measuring cup (if you scoop it into a measuring cup, it usually gets packed in too tightly) and level it off with the flat edge of a butter knife.
• Slightly under bake for the delicious super soft and chewy texture we all love in blondies!
• Use pure vanilla extract – since there aren’t too many ingredients in these bars, the ingredients you use matter! McCormick’s Pure Vanilla Extract makes a HUGE flavor difference in these bars!
• Use room temperature eggs: This ensures the eggs disperse more evenly into the batter giving these bars a lighter texture (the eggs trap air). Soaking refrigerated eggs in a bowl of warm (not hot) water for about 10 minutes is a quick way to do this. Otherwise, pull the eggs out about 30 minutes before use.
• Don’t overmix – if you overmix, the gluten in the flour will get over worked and bars will become denser and less soft and chewy.

How do I store these blondies?

Store white chocolate cranberry blondies covered in an airtight container up to 3 days at room temperature OR up to a week in the fridge.

Can I freeze these blondies?

You can also freeze up to 3 months. To freeze: let bars cool completely and then individually wrap each bar in plastic wrap and place all the individually wrapped bars in a large freezer safe bag or container. Allow to thaw at room temperature.

Watch a video on how to make White Chocolate Cranberry Blondies here:

White Chocolate Cranberry Blondies

 

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Author: Alyssa

Serves: 12 bars

Ingredients

• ½ cup (1 stick) salted butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 1 cup brown sugar (light or dark), packed
• 1 large egg
• ½ tablespoon McCormick Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• ½ cup dried cranberries
• Optional: sea salt, for sprinkling on bars

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8 x 8-inch baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In large bowl, add melted butter and brown sugar. Stir until mixed and then add egg and vanilla extract. Stir vigorously until completely smooth.
3. Add flour and beat until batter is completely smooth and well combined. Stir until the batter pulls away from the bowl; add white chocolate chips and dried cranberries. Mix until just combined – do not over mix.
4. Spoon batter into prepared pan and bake 20-25 minutes. A toothpick when inserted into the center of bars should come out mostly clean. Remove from oven and sprinkle with sea salt, if desired. Allow blondies to cool completely before slicing into squares.