Gooey Lemon Blondies

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I couldn’t let too many days of the new year go by without sharing a sweet treat now could I? To me- the winter months are always about citrus- bright, slightly tart and fruity desserts that somehow seem lighter than the rich, chocolatey alternative. Also, am I the only one who finds the brightness of citrus a ray of sunshine during the otherwise dreary weeks of winter?

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January always feels like the hardest month of the year to get through and this year may be the worst as the end of the month will bring my baby that I feel I’ve been waiting for forever. I’m doing my best to keep busy, nesting away, getting in naps when I can and stocking up on freezer meals and blog posts, but a burst of delicious tart citrus never fails to keep me perky and reminded of the sunnier days to come!

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These bars have an almost brownie-like texture- crisp on the edges with soft and chewy middles. They are lemon-y to the max and are topped with a gooey lemon glaze that sends them over the top.  They are delicious freshly glazed, but I also froze a bunch of them and then thawed them in the container at room temperature. You’d never have known they were frozen as they tasted absolutely perfect and the texture was spot on. Convenient and delicious- can’t beat that right?

PS- Don’t forget to enter to win a KitchenAid Stand mixer- the giveaway I shared yesterday is still going on until the end of the week!

Gooey Lemon Blondies

Gooey Lemon Blondies

Yield: 16 bars

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 stick butter, soft
  • 1 egg and 1 yolk
  • juice and zest from 1/2 lemon

For the glaze:

  • 3/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • additional lemon zest for sprinkling

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth and pale. Add the egg, yolk, juice and zest and mix until well combined.
  2. Sprinkle the flour and salt over the wet ingredients and mix on low until well combined - (do not over mix)
  3. Pour batter into a greased 8x8 baking pan and bake at 350 for 25 minutes, or until the edges are just golden and the center of the pan is set. Cool bars before glazing.

For the glaze:

  1. Stir the powdered sugar together with the lemon juice (1 tablespoon to start, adding more if needed) until a smooth consistency is reached.
  2. Spread glaze over the bars and top with lemon zest.

Notes

Recipe adapted from: Rita's Recipes

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 16 Serving Size: 1 grams
Amount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g

Did you make this recipe?

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38 Comments

  1. I’m a huge lemon lover so you can bet I’m already in love with this recipe! I have to admit chocolate based desserts have tired me a little, and the best alternative in my opinion is something lemon-y, fresh and simply delicious!
    And what’s better than lemon blondies?!
    Thanks for this amazing recipe :)

    xo, Elisa

  2. beautiful. i would love to eat these right now but i’m trying a break for at least two weeks from desserts and baked goods. i overdosed!!! over the holidays i made some citrus marmalade from all the fruit on my parents farm. i need to give you a jar….if you like marmalade? it is a taste not everyone enjoys but i really like it!!! xoxo

  3. Thank you for reminding me of this recipe and letting us know they freeze well! Your blondies look so delicious!

  4. These look so great! I agree — Lemons are exactly like little balls of sunshine! Perfect for brightening up these cold, dark months.

  5. Citrus is definitely a welcome treat during the blustery, gray-sky month of January. These bars look so moist and delicate. I can’t believe the wee one will be here soon. Time sure does fly.

  6. I tried making these the other day, but they didn’t look or turn out like yours did. They were sadly not gooey, but very crumbly and wouldn’t hold together well. I followed the recipe exactly other than using bottled lemon juice in place of the fresh juice and zest. (I have no fresh lemons on hand.) What could I have done wrong? Still quite tasty, I will be sure to try these again!

    1. Hey Jenna
      I’m so sorry they didn’t turn out quite right for you. I wish I could pin-point what went wrong- the juice thing shouldn’t have been an issue. It’s possible there was another error but I’m not sure what. I’ve made them a few times with great success so I hope you try again! :)

  7. Just took these out of the oven now, it will be hard to wait til they cool before glazing and eating them!

    I wonder if it would be possible to do some kind of lemon-white chocolate glaze or ganache with these, but for now I’ll stick with the regular lemon glaze :)

  8. I tried making these and they turned out pretty tasty but they didnt rise up as much,what could have been the reason?

    1. I just realized in told you to check the powder/soda but there actually isn’t any in this recipe. Sorry about that sleep-deprived new mom snafu! I am my are why your bars didn’t rise as much- hard to know what went wrong since I wasn’t there. I do have to say though- they’re not meant to rise much. They are a dense-brownie-like texture. Did you use a bigger pan?

  9. Not expired but yes i guess its gotten a little old,will try next tim with a new one:)

  10. I don’t see baking powder or soda in the recipe but see it suggested as being a problem when it didn’t work. How much of which should be included? Thanks!

    1. That’s a very good point- that’s what I get for trying to give advice when sleep deprived :) can I blame it on new mom brain?

      No powder or soda in this recipe :) I will add to my earlier “advice” :)

  11. I just made those and added some finely chopped candied ginger in the batter, baked then in a muffin pan and topped each blondie with a raspberry. They look and taste great, and only take a few minutes to make. I highly recommend this recipe!

  12. I was wondering about freezing these. I’m planning on making them for a bridal shower and it would be great if I could make them now and freeze them. Did you put the glaze on before freezing or after you thawed them? Thanks!

  13. These were awesome! I was really wanting to find something lemony that was slightly less work than the basic lemon bar. It brought back some wonderful food memories as well. Definitely holding on to this recipe. Out of curiosity, has anyone tried doing a gluten free version of this with success?

  14. Can I just use 2 eggs instead of one egg and one egg yolk ? Just easier to use 2 eggs. Thanks

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