Cranberry Almond White Chocolate Blondies

The Geologist is madly in love with his company. And to be honest, I'm awfully fond of them too. They're extremely family oriented, he works with great people, and there are constant opportunities to serve others. One day he got paid to go bowling for charity. All day. He's had two days of working with Habitat for Humanity. Just in place of a normal work day. How cool is that?? Last month they had a week long series of fundraiser events for , including a cake decorating competition, a chili and ribs cook-off, and an 80's prom. I signed up (obviously) for the bake sale! I made a whole batch of Brown Sugar Coffee Bars (which are a huge hit around his office) but I just wasn't satisfied with only bringing one option, so I whipped these together too. Every single bite sold, and I helped raise over 40$! Food and helping people. Doesn't get much more awesome than that!

Cranberry Almond White Chocolate Blondies

Printable Recipe

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) salted butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup white chocolate chips for drizzling

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray. (I recommend lining with foil or parchment and spraying the lining, makes them lots easier to get out!)

Cream together butter and sugars till fluffy. Beat in the eggs, almond, and vanilla until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder,and salt; gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Stir in the cranberries, almonds, and chocolate chips. This batter is pretty thick

Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 18-21 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean (do not overbake). Cool completely on a wire rack. Melt white chocolate chips in microwave safe bowl in the microwave in 30 second segments, stirring well between each. Drizzle over blondies. Let chocolate set before slicing.

I started with a recipe for Cranberry Bliss Bars. Apparently they're pretty big at Starbucks. But I wanted almonds. And almond flavoring. And no frosting. And cinnamon didn't work in there anymore... So I created something new! And they were super duper yummy!

My first blondie recipe ever! I've never been a huge fan of blondies, (though I haven't had many) they just seemed to be over-the-top sweet and rich. These are perfectly sweet, chewy, with lots of scrumptious bits and pieces...

And they're pretty! And easy to throw together! I hope you give them a try, they were lots of fun to create (and eat!). I almost wish I could have saved a few more...