It’s not often I make things from the blog twice in one week. Because already in our house, we have a Coconut Lemon Tart, Seedy Quinoa Chocolate Bark, and 3 leftover savory dishes from photoshoots.
But these bars Alex and I could not get enough of. The consistency is f-l-a-w-l-e-s-s. They’re chewy and moist, but not too dense. The freshly ground cardamom tastes so springy and delicious, we quite literally could not stop eating them. So we made a second batch, just for fun.
Sometimes it’s the simplest of desserts that gets you. These bars are a testament to that fact. Every night for the last 4 nights, Alex has brought over the tupperware container they’ve been stored in and a big glass of milk. We’ve sat on the couch and noshed away at these babies, savoring every delicious bite.
Now, I strongly recommend making your own chai spice mix as outlined in the recipe below, but you can also buy chai spice mix from some specialty grocery stores. If you go this route, substitute in 1 tablespoon of chai spice mix.
Hope you all have a fantastic weekend making these bars (heheh). LOVES YOU GUYS!
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and line an 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.
In a standing mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the melted butter, vegetable oil, and light brown sugar on high speed for 30 seconds. Add in the egg and vanilla extract and mix for another 30 seconds.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, black pepper, baking powder, and salt. Fold dry ingredients into wet and place into prepared baking pan.
Mix together sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over bars. Bake for 25 minutes, then allow to cool completely before cutting into squares!
Hi Annabel! I would be hesitant to swap it out for the chai concentrate because you’d be adding more liquid and sweetener to the batter so it would alter the texture of the blondies!
These are delicious! Super comforting and perfect for fall. There are a couple comments recommending to either reduce or omit the amount of sugar topping but I personally thought the sugar topping added a really nice, almost cinnamon donut-type quality to the recipe so I definitely wouldn’t suggest skipping it or cutting it down. That’s just a personal preference though! I added white chocolate chips as well and thought that they really complemented the overall flavour profile of the blondies. I will definitely be making these again; thanks for yet another lovely recipe!
Leave a comment and rate this recipe!
Could I substitute out dry chai for a chai concentrate? If so, how much would you recommend I add?
Hi Annabel! I would be hesitant to swap it out for the chai concentrate because you’d be adding more liquid and sweetener to the batter so it would alter the texture of the blondies!
Delicious! My cup-for-cup gluten free flour worked perfectly as a substitute. They smelled amazing while baking too. Will definitely make again.
★★★★★
hello! would olive oil be alright as veg oil for this? or should I opt for a more neutral kind of oil?
I would recommend a neutral oil!
Made these for the first time today. Wow, wow, wow! Can’t top eating them. So good!
★★★★★
These are delicious! Super comforting and perfect for fall. There are a couple comments recommending to either reduce or omit the amount of sugar topping but I personally thought the sugar topping added a really nice, almost cinnamon donut-type quality to the recipe so I definitely wouldn’t suggest skipping it or cutting it down. That’s just a personal preference though! I added white chocolate chips as well and thought that they really complemented the overall flavour profile of the blondies. I will definitely be making these again; thanks for yet another lovely recipe!
★★★★★
never have i ever received this many compliments on one of my bakes, people were asking me to bake them a whole tray for themselves!
★★★★★