Cinnamon Roll Blondies

Love cinnamon rolls? You need to give these cinnamon roll blondies a go! Soft, chewy and finished with cream cheese frosting. Perfect for a mid-morning cosy treat, or topped with pecan ice-cream for a warming dessert.

What makes them cinnamon roll blondies?

There are three things that make these blondies cinnamon roll flavoured:

1. Cinnamon spice is added to the blondie mixture – giving the blondies that warming, cosy flavour.
   
2. Cinnamon-sugar filling – a mixture of melted butter, light brown sugar and ground cinnamon. The filling is layered between the blondie batter, which once baked has a gooey texture and a caramelised flavour just like the filling of a cinnamon bread roll.
   
3. Cream cheese frosting – cinnamon rolls aren’t cinnamon rolls without the frosting! The blondies are pretty sweet so I chose to just drizzle the frosting on top, but by all means, feel free to spread a layer on top instead.

Let’s talk about the baking time

The baking time is the one thing that will either make or break these blondies. Overbaked = dry and cakey. Underbaked = wet and greasy. After a lot of trial and error, I found that 25 minutes at 180°C (fan) was the sweet spot. But, here’s the tricky part… every oven is different and the type of baking tin you’re using will make a difference to the baking time too. So here’s what to look out for:

• The blondies should be set and golden on top
• Small cracks should be visible around the edges
• The middle of the blondies should jiggle a little

Check on the blondies after 22 minutes (only open the door a little so the hot air doesn’t escape) and if the blondies aren’t ready, continue to bake for 2 minutes at a time.

One more thing… if you’ve found that your oven tends to bake things quickly or on the flip side takes ages to bake, it might be worth purchasing an oven thermometer gadget. It sits inside the oven and will give you an accurate temperature reading. You might find that you’re setting your oven to 180°C (fan) but the actual temperature is much higher or lower.

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Cinnamon Roll Blondies

Love cinnamon rolls? You need to give these cinnamon roll blondies a go! Soft, chewy and finished with cream cheese frosting. Perfect for a mid-morning cosy treat, or topped with pecan ice-cream for a warming dessert.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 25 mins

Chill time 2 hrs

Total Time 2 hrs 45 mins

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine Baking

Servings 12

Ingredients

  

For the blondie mixture

• 180 g Unsalted butter
• 250 g Light brown sugar
• 2 medium Eggs
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• 180 g Self-raising flour
• 1 tsp Ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp Salt

For the cinnamon sugar mixture

• 50 g Unsalted butter
• 50 g Light brown sugar
• 1 tbsp Ground cinnamon

For the cream cheese frosting

• 25 g Unsalted butter soft at room temperature
• 50 g Icing sugar
• 25 g Full-fat cream cheese cold from the fridge

Instructions

 

Start by making the cinnamon sugar mixture

• In a small bowl combine the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Microwave for 10-20 seconds until the butter melts, then stir everything together. Set aside for now.

Now make the blondie mixture

• Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan) and line an 8inch square baking tin with greaseproof paper. Set aside for now.
• Place the butter in a large bowl and melt in the microwave for 30-60 seconds until it turns to liquid.
• Add both sugars, the eggs and vanilla extract and use a whisk to combine everything together.
• Now add the flour, cinnamon and salt, and use a spatula to fold together until combined.
• Pour half of the blondie mixture into the baking tin and spread to the edges. Dollop spoonfuls of the cinnamon-sugar mixture on top and spread out. Top with the rest of the blondie mixture and spread to the edges.
• Bake for 22-28 minutes*. The blondies should be set and golden on top, with small cracks showing around the edge and the middle should jiggle a little.
• Leave to cool in the baking tin for 30 minutes, then pop in the fridge to set and cool completely for 2 hours.

Meanwhile, make the cream cheese frosting

• First cream the butter until really soft, smooth and pale in colour. Sift in the icing sugar and beat again until smooth. Now take the cream cheese out of the fridge, add it to the bowl and gently fold together until combined. Be careful not to overdo it, as the frosting can quickly turn runny.
• Once the blondies are cool, lift them out of the baking tin and drizzle the cream cheese frosting on top.

Notes

Store your brownies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day. Or they will keep fresh in the fridge for up to 3 days. 

 

*Check out my notes on the baking time in the blog post above.

Keyword Blondies, Cinnamon, Cinnamon rolls, Cream cheese frosting, Light brown sugar

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