These coffee cake blondies combine the chewy rich center you love in blondies and the delicious streusel topping from coffee cake to make the perfect dessert.
Alright, friends. Do you ever just make a recipe and you have low expectations for one reason or another and to your surprise it ends up being one of the best things ever in the entire history of the universe?
That is these bars.
What are Coffee Cake Blondies?
These blondies started out as a simple gooey cinnamon blondie. We all know and love regular blondies, so why not try and make a cinnamon version? That idea spiraled into what you now see before you. Crumble topping? WHY NOT. Vanilla drizzle? YES. JUST DO IT. Smoosh all of these things together and what do you unintentionally get? Blondies that taste just like coffee cake.
These blondies start with an oooey gooey cinnamon blondie base. So soft. So delicious. So addicting. On top of that you have a brown sugar cinnamon crumble topping. This topping would taste good on a shoe if you asked us, but it really adds a nice texture to these blondies.
Why stop there? You could of course leave these babies naked, HECK you could even leave off the crumble topping (why would you though…) but we decided to take it a step further down sugar street and add a dash of vanilla icing to really complete the experience.
What do you need to make these blondies?
Very basic ingredients are all you need for these.
- Unsalted butter, melted
- eggs and egg yolk
- Dark brown sugar (you could also use light brown sugar)
- Vanilla extract
- Baking powder
- Ground cinnamon
- Flour
- Salt
To make the glaze all you need is some powdered sugar and heavy cream or milk mixed together!
To make the blondie base simply beat the butter and brown sugar together. Add in the eggs and egg yolk and vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, salt, cinnamon and baking powder. Slowly pour this mixture into the wet mixture and mix until just combined. Pour into a 9X9 or 8X8 baking pan.
For the crumble topping, mix together the melted butter and brown sugar. and in the flour and cinnamon and continue to mix. As the mixture comes together, it may be easier to mix with a spatula or spoon. It will start to look like play-dough.
Crumble this mixture on top of the batter in the pan and bake at 350F for 35-40 minutes! Once these are cool, drizzle the icing on top and enjoy!
How do you know when they are done?
You will know these bars are done baking when a toothpick inserted comes out clean. You want these to be slightly under-baked but you don’t want them to be jiggly in the middle. They will continue to cook and set as they cool. You will also see the edges start to pull away from the side of the pan slightly and have a golden brown color.
How do you store these coffee cake blondies?
We recommend storing these at room temperature but highly encourage heating in the microwave for a few seconds before eating. They are perfectly delicious at room temperature but heating them up makes them 10 times better. Trust us.
Options
- We used dark brown sugar for these for a richer flavor however you could certainly use light brown sugar instead.
- If you prefer less crumble on top you can cut the recipe in half for a thinner layer
- Icing on top is optional!
- We used a 9X9 square baking pan however an 8X8 would also do the trick!
Check out some of our other favorite dessert bar recipes!
- Shortbread Caramel S’more Bars
- The BEST Peanut Butter Cookie Bars
- Marshmallow Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Coffee Cake Blondies
Ingredients
For the cinnamon blondies
- 1 cup unsalted butter melted
- 2 eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tsp salt
For the brown sugar crumble topping
- 1 cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp Ground cinnamon
- 2 1/2 cup flour
For the vanilla drizzle
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3 tbsp milk or heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 9X9 square pan with parchment paper.
- Combine the melted butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Mix until combined
- Add in eggs and egg yolk and mix until eggs are combined. Add in vanilla
- In a seperate bowl mix together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon
- Slowly pour flour mixture into wet mixture and mix until just combined
- Spoon the mixture into your prepared baking pan and spread out evenly into the pan
For the crumble topping
- Mix the brown sugar and granulated sugar in a medium bowl.
- Add the melted butter to the sugar and mix with a whisk
- Once combined add in the flour and cinnamon and continue to mix until combined.
- As it comes together it may be easier to mix with a spatula or a spoon. When the mixture comes together it will be the consistency of playdough
- Take the mixture and with your hands crumble it on top of the blondie dough. Cover the entire pan with the crumble mixture
- Bake for 35 – 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
For the drizzle
- Combine the milk or cream with the powdered sugar until combined.
- If the mixure is too thin, add more sugar. If it is too thick, add more milk or cream
- Allow the bars to cool before drizzling with the vanilla glaze
- Enjoy!