Sometimes in my kitchen I stick to the predictable. You know- recipes directly from the Martha Stewart website that are tried and true and reliable. Other times, I take those predictable recipes and decide to add a twist to it. One in awhile it works well and I feel like a culinary magician- other times I ruin everything and wish I never messed with Martha.
I have to say that this one was culinary magic. These blondies are some of the most delicious things I’ve ever tasted. They are gooey, chewy, and sweet with a crispy top and crust. The caramel filling is a perfect surprise and the cinnamon sugar is extra special. I made a huge batch of these and took them to the offices of my new agency. I think they like me a little more now. (I swear, baked goods make EVERYONE like you.) :)
These are basically the child of my Snickerdoodle Blondies and my Caramel-stuffed Snickerdoodles. I had originally envisioned the caramel oozing out all gooey like, but that didn’t happen. The batter is VERY thick, so I ended up having to almost swirl the layers together. Needless to say it turned out so much better than I could have imagined. Everyone loved these and I know this is a recipe I’ll keep around……in case I want more people to like me :)
PS- Anyone live in Maine? I just booked a role in a play at The Maine Public theatre later in the fall! Very excited. I hope they have a well-stocked kitchen. :)
- 2-2/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 cups packed brown sugar
- 1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 14 oz bag of caramels unwrapped
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan; set aside.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a medium bowl; set aside.
- Beat together the butter and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, and then the vanilla. Beat, scraping the bowl, until thoroughly combined. On low speed, gradually add the flour mixture until just combined. Give the dough a final stir with a spatula or wooden spoon to make sure the flour is incorporated.
- Spread half of the dough evenly into the pan (It is going to be a thick batter so you may need greased spatula to help with this).
- Heat the caramels and cream in a saucepan over medium-high heat until thick and melted.
- Pour the caramel sauce over the batter.
- Distribute the remaining batter as evenly as possible over the caramel. (I found I needed to get my hands dirty for this. I grabbed pieces of dough and flattened it out over the caramel. Do the best you can! If there are areas that aren't totally covered it's OK. It makes it look swirly and fancy.)
- Combine the granulated sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly over the top of the batter.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the surface springs back when gently pressed. Cool completely before cutting. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Ann says
Wow – these are absolutely stunning. I am allergic to cinnamon, so I can’t indulge…but I remember how delicious it is in…everything! Especially these. They look so moist and fabulous! I love it…truly culinary magic!
Tina says
Cinnamon and caramel do sound tasty together. Your bars look delicious-yum! Congrats on the booking at the theater.
[email protected] says
I think I’m going to have to try these out!! They look AMAZING!!!! Baked goods really do make everyone happy! :D
thesmartcookiecook.com says
Oh my, these sound fantastic. I LOVE the combination of caramel and cinnamon. I’m definitely going to make these for my family, especially since my mom loves caramel!
Erin says
Congrats on your play!! These bars look amazing! I can see why people like you! I am saving this one for sure!
cookingwithchrissy says
Oh man do these look good!! The combo of cinnamon and caramel sounds amazing.
Dawnie @ The Coach's Wife's Kitchen says
These look so good! I am on a caramel kick the last few days… I think this recipe will go great with the microwave caramel I just made! YUM!
Lauren at Keep It Sweet says
Those do look magical! I can’t wait to get the chance to make them.
Lacy says
Oh my god these look so good!! i am definitely trying out this recipe…tonight!
Claire says
Those look divine!
Rita D K Simmons says
Those look delicious and great pictures, thanks for the share!
Ama says
These look so good I could probably eat the whole batch! Just looking at the picture you can tell that they’re soft, chewy, and delicious. Great recipe :)
Erin @ The Spiffy Cookie says
Baked goods are a bribe are the best! Especially if someone gave me a plate full of these babies.
In Katrina's Kitchen says
Goodness! I am in love with these yummies! Congrats on your part- wish I could see it! ;)
sugarfooteats.com says
I’m definitely going to be making these!!! And if I was in ME I’d be at your play in a heartbeat.
[email protected] says
These look fantastic. I ALMOST like blondies as much as I like regular brownies. And caramel definitely makes me think they are better. :-D
karrie says
Made these tonight- delish! The cinnamon/caramel combo is divine! It was a good thing we had company, or we have eaten them all! Thanks for sharing!!!
Stephanie @ Eat. Drink. Love. says
cinnamon and caramel are quite the combo. These blondies look fantastic!
[email protected] says
Cinnamon and caramel are two of my favorites! I normally dont like blondies that much, but I have to give this one a try.
The Procrastobaker says
Oh good LORD these look good! I have a feeling i would make lots of friends if i was to make these come my return to uni in september :) Gorgeous recipe!!
Carolyn says
Oooh, baby! These are dangerous!
Jess Wakasugi says
Gah, these look SO yummy!! It’s treats like this that keep you experimenting!
And congrats on the role, what a great accomplishment and exciting time for you!
Gina says
I would agree my dear, these baked goods make me like you. Can’t wait to try them.
-Gina-
Sandra says
Audra these are mighty good looking!:)Love itttt! Girl you can bake some great desserts!!
izy says
these seem to be everything I love mixed together into one convenient bar, what a great recipe!
Reem says
OMG!!! These are divinely dangerous… They are from heaven. Lovely recipe… Thanks for sharing.
Congrats on your role.
Alex says
great flavors! yum!
Tante Jul says
Oh. I think I just fell in love with you.
Or with the wonderful concept of stickiness, crust, caramel AND cinnamon, my favourite christmassy flavour.
The Harried Cook says
Beautiful blondies… Gorgeous flavor combination… This recipe is a keeper for sure! Thanks for sharing!
erin says
Oh wow! These look amazing! I was just skimming through and I saw the magical words – cinnamon blondies and caramel stuffed snickerdoodles – I had to read through. I think this is my new fave spot to hang out on the net. And it’s true – baked goods make you friends. [by the way, what’s your font? I love it!]
Tara says
How is it that I haven’t come across your blog yet?! What a gorgeous blog you have here! These blondies look outstanding and they very well may be going on my “hurricane menu” this weekend.
k-red-ink says
These look amazing! My husband love cinnamon and I love caramel, so this may be a match made in heaven for this weekend. :)
I’m kind of a new cook, so I have a question: when you list “cream,” do you mean heavy cream or single, or…? I hope this isn’t a silly question!
Rachel M. says
Oh my. We may have a problem.
Cinnamon…and caramel…together. Yes, there most definitely will be a problem making these and sharing them with anyone. It’s true baked good earn friends, but no, I may just eat these all myself. :))
Can’t wait to try this!
Audra says
Thanks so much everyone!
K-red: Yes yes, Heavy Cream! Though I had to use a little half and half and it was just fine.
erin:Not sure of the font! When I looked at my blogger “edit” page it just says “default,” I will try to find out :)
Mercedes says
These look ooey, gooey, chewy, delicious!
Anonymous says
Wow! These look amazing. I was wondering if it would work to use Dulche de Leche in place of the caramels and cream since I have a big jar of it in my kitchen? What do you think?
Audra says
I think Dulce de Leche could work just fine. It may be slightly different but should be OK. Let me know how it turns out!
Ally says
I’m scared to make these. I’d eat them all!
xo
http://allykayler.blogspot.com
Sandra says
Congratulations on the role and this recipe. The Blondies look delicious!
Tatiana says
These were a big hit tonight! Thanks!
k-red says
I made these for a small gathering at my house on Sunday, and they were a huge hit! I gave out copies of the recipe that night! My husband really liked them…except that he said I should have made them smaller so that he could eat more and feel less guilty. :) Thank you for sharing!
Katie Behr says
Made these today! So delicious. Instead of peeling open and melting the caramel, I purchased a container of the melted caramel sauce found during the fall for dipping apples in. I used almost the whole container (about 14 ozs.) and still used the heavy cream. Worked out well and saved a lot of time.
I also just used cinnamon sugar from the spice box, instead of making my own concoction. Saved time and I had it handy.
It is very annoying to spread the dough on top of the caramel. It helps to do it as soon as the caramel is poured into pan because it warms it up a bit for spreading. Like Audra said, it definitely tastes just fine without the dough spreading perfectly on top.
Thanks for the recipe!
erinfrazee says
These are so decadent – and they made the house smell amazing. Rave reviews from my husband’s co-workers (I had to get them out of our house or I would eat them allllll!!!). Thank you for the recipe!
Lauren M says
Hi, what sort of caramels did you use? I live in Australia so products are different, soft caramels like jersey caramels or hard caramels?
Thanks
Audra says
@Lauren- I used the soft chewy caramels. I’ve never heard them called Jersey Caramels, but they’re definitely not hard! Good luck!
Kim says
Audra, I am trying this recipe right now. I will let you know how it goes!
beth.pollock says
Love these! What a great recipe – hopefully I’ll blog about them soon, too!
pamela says
“I had originally envisioned the caramel oozing out all gooey like, but that didn’t happen.” Hmm, I don’t know what i did differently but mine DO have caramel oozing out all gooey-like! (Cooked them for close to 30 minutes so I don’t think they’re underbaked?) I actually have no idea how I’m going to slice and plate them to bring to a BBQ because they’re so ooey, but I’ll figure something out because these babies are GOOOOOD and need to be shared!