Chai Cookie Dough Topped Blondies

About a couple weeks ago, I finally got around to trying out a recipe for Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Topped Brownies. I enjoyed them so much that it got me to thinking. You all know about this thing I have for chai spice. Well, I wondered, what about making a chai spiced version of those bars?

To start with, I'd use a blondie base since brown sugar flavors and spice go together hand in hand. I used the recipe for Snickerdoodle Blondies from Sweet Pea's Kitchen and altered it slightly by omitting the nutmeg from the batter. I also left off the cinnamon-sugar topping since I would be using the cookie dough on the blondies instead.


For the cookie dough topping, I turned to Brown Eyed Baker and altered the recipe she used for her Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Topped Brownies. I used all brown sugar, decreased the vanilla, increased the flour, added my chai spice blend, and omitted the chocolate chips.

After baking the blondie base and cooling it, I slathered on the cookie dough topping and finished it off with a melted white chocolate drizzle and some chopped pistachios. I was really pleased at how it turned out and how pretty it all looked. It also tasted quite good.


But, there's always room for a little improvement. I think next time, I'd decrease the amount of sugar in the cookie dough topping. It was a little too sweet for me and reminded me more of buttercream frosting than cookie dough. Secondly, the cookie dough was a bit too soft for my taste, so I'd also decrease the amount of milk. Finally, when making the blondie base, I'd probably increase the recipe by half (just to give me a thicker bar for my base) and add more chopped pistachios to it for texture and flavor. Still, though, for a first try, it was yummy indeed. And, after I tweak it up, I have a feeling it's gonna be amazing.


Chai Cookie Dough Topped Blondies (inspired by Brown Eyed Baker and Sweet Pea's Kitchen and created by Lisa of Sweet as Sugar Cookies)

Blondies (adapted from Sweet Pea's Kitchen)

1 1/3 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. packed light brown sugar
1/2 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Chai Cookie Dough (adapted from Brown Eyed Baker)

3/4 c. salted butter, softened
1 1/2 c. brown sugar (I'd decrease this to 1 cup next time)
3 Tbsp. milk (I'd decrease this to 2 Tbsp.)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. chai spice (1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. ginger powder, 1/4 tsp. allspice, 1/4 tsp. cardamom, 1/8 tsp. white pepper)

melted white chocolate, for drizzling
chopped pistachios, for sprinkling on top

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9x13 inch pan with foil, with an overhang on all four sides. Butter the foil. Cream the butter with the sugar. Add the egg and vanilla and beat well. Add the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Spread the batter evenly in the pan and bake 25-35 min. until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely or chill in the fridge to speed up the process.

For the cookie dough layer: Cream the butter and the sugar. Add the milk and vanilla and mix until combined. Mix in the flour and chai spice until just combined.

Spread the cookie dough over the cooled blondies. Sprinkle with the chopped pistachios. Drizzle with the melted white chocolate. Chill until the dough is firm, about 1 hour.