Chai lattes are my drink of choice. I’m not one for coffee, much to my husband’s disappointment, but chai lattes – I could drink them ALL day. These Chai Spiced Blondie Bars make all my chai-covered dreams come true. They have a deliciously soft texture with a homemade mix of spices infused into the bars themselves.
On top is a dollop of creamy cinnamon frosting that provides not only an extra sweet hit but a lovely contrast in texture. The aromatic mix of warm spices mean these simple blondie bars are absolutely packed with flavour.
I remember discussing the disappointment of bland blondies when I made posted my Pecan Chocolate Chip Blondies last year. I never used to like blondies. I thought they were a brownie’s lacklustre cousin. But I was wrong. When blondies are made well and not overbaked, they are amazing.
They boast a soft caramel flavour, thanks to the creaming of the brown sugar, and taste like a soft and buttery cookie. And these Chai Spiced Blondies Bars are next level. A beautiful mix of cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and cloves make them not only taste lovely but smell absolutely incredible.
Do you like gingerbread? These blondies bars have a remarkable likeness to gingerbread, thanks to the mix of spices and the almost molasses flavour that emanates from the brown sugar. I am a gingerbread fanatic so these bars were my everything.
The first time I made them, I was home alone and I had to keep ‘sampling’ them to determine if the mix of spices was right. Before I knew it, half the bar was gone. Oops. But it’s important to be a good taste tester in this world of food blogging, right?
The cinnamon frosting is a quick mix buttercream. If your butter is soft enough, you don’t even need to get the electric mixer out and you can stir it by hand. I can do this because we live in a very hot and humid climate where our butter softens in no time at all.
To save time, you could just smother the top of your blondie bars with the frosting, rather than piping it on – each to their own. Then sprinkle the top with a little extra cinnamon. Either way, I hope you love these Chai Spiced Blondies as much as I did.
Chai Spiced Blondies
Makes one 8 inch pan
Ingredients
Blondie bars
115 grams (1/2 cup or 1 stick) unsalted butter
90 grams (1/2 cup) brown sugar
50 grams (1/2 cup) caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
175 grams (1 and 1/4 cup) plain flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Cinnamon frosting
115 grams (1/2 cup or 1 stick) unsalted butter
190 grams (1 and 1/2 cups) icing or powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Preheat your oven to 180 C (360 F). Grease and line an 8 inch square baking tray with baking or parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl cream the butter and sugars until combined – be generous as this will help develop that lovely buttery caramel flavour, approximately 2-3 minutes. Add your vanilla and egg and mix again until combined.
Sift in your flour, along with all the spices and mix gently with a wooden spoon or plastic spatula. Transfer your mixture into your prepared baking tin, spreading it out to make one even layer, and pop into the oven for approximately 18-20 minutes or until golden brown on the edges. Leave for 10-15 minutes before removing from the tin and placing on a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the frosting, beat together the butter, icing sugar and milk until it forms a smooth consistency. Add the cinnamon and beat to combine. You can either spread the frosting onto the blondie and cut into bars or pipe it on like I did, using a piping bag fitted with a large star tip.
Love spices, and this chai inspired blondies look so delicious!!!
I love how you always incorporate all my favorite flavors in decadent treats. I’ve never seen a chai blondie before so I am going crazy for these! So genius and looks incredible!
You know I cannot turn down CHAI anything! These blondies are certainly no exception! I love this idea!!
Me either! Thanks Lynn! 🙂
These look delicious Jess! I actually love blondies just as much, if not more, than I like brownies. And chai spiced? PERFECT!
Aww thanks Mary Ann!
You know I can’t say no to anything with the word chai in the title! And I love gingerbread so these blondies sound like they are perfect Amy bait 🙂 I can’t wait to make these – do I have to share with Chris?
You do not have to share Amy, I won’t tell anyone! 😉
I could drink chai lattes all day too, so these sound wonderful. And I really like gingerbread too so the flavor sounds amazing!
Thanks Amanda! 🙂
I will take coffee over tea any day but I love the warm combination of spices in these blondies! SO perfectly chewy!
Thanks Ashley! 🙂
Blondies can definitely be bland but they have to be cooked perfectly and packed with lots of brown sugar flavor in order to work. But that’s rare cause they can definitely turn out to be flavorless hard bricks! I like that you put in so much more flavor into them. I’m getting a little bored of the generic sweet recipes where its just vanilla and lots of sugar. We deserve to have more flavor! Love that you added cardamon to them!
I love lots of flavour too Linda! I’ve been really into my spices lately!
Oh wow, these look delicious Jess! I’m the same as you – coffee just isn’t really my thing, and I’d much prefer a chai latte if I’m after something creamy and sweet to drink when I’m out. The centres of these blondies look like they have the perfect crumb, and those little swirls of cinnamon icing look like they would seriously just melt in your mouth!
Thanks Lisa! Chai lattes are just lovely aren’t they! 🙂
How brilliant!!! I love anything chai flavoured (I’m drinking a chai tea while writing this). I can’t wait to give these a go! xx
Thanks Lucy! Chai is so delicious! 🙂
Oh my gosh, I am ALL OVER these! My favorite kind of tea is called "Bengal Spice," and it is full of chai spices. I think I might make these right now. Why do you do this to me?
Oh that tea sounds lovely! I hope you enjoy them Melissa! 🙂
I LOVE a good chai latte, and these blondies are the perfect rendition of one in bar form! These look so delish 😀
Me too Rachel! 🙂
I love all of these spices and that cinnamon frosting!
Thanks Joanne!