Gingerbread White Chocolate Blondies -- Good Is Where You Start

December. Christmas music is playing in the daycare and the toddlers are either enchanted or overwhelmed by it depending on the child. Elijah likes the songs with a steady beat. He bobs his head slightly. He has been doing this since November and I always catch it and pretend not to, because he is private about his enjoyment the way some children are, the way I was.

I am registered for the next semester at Calhoun: two classes this time, Introduction to Special Education and Family Engagement in Early Childhood. I thought about one class versus two for several days before registering. Two is ambitious with a full-time job. One is slow. I registered for two. I will manage. I have managed harder things.

This week in the kitchen I made gingerbread cookies for the first time. It is a project: make the dough, refrigerate, roll, cut into shapes, bake, cool, frost. The kids at the daycare helped decorate. We used simple icing in white and I gave each toddler a small spoon of sprinkles, which was the correct amount because any more would have been chaos and also because sprinkles go everywhere even with small amounts. The cookies were good, spiced and not too sweet, the edges crisp and the centers soft.

I brought a tin of them to Gloria on Sunday. She ate one and said that is a good gingerbread. Not exceptional, not perfected, but good. Good is where you start. You work toward good first.

After the gingerbread cookies came out well — not exceptional, just good, which Gloria reminded me is exactly the right place to begin — I wanted to keep that momentum going without starting the whole cut-and-frost project over again. These gingerbread white chocolate blondies gave me the same warm spice and soft center I loved about those cookies, in a form that didn’t require rolling out dough on a Tuesday after work. They’re the kind of thing you can make when you’re already doing a lot, and they still taste like you meant it.

Gingerbread White Chocolate Blondies

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 40 min | Servings: 16 bars

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup molasses (not blackstrap)
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 3/4 cup white chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat. Heat your oven to 350°F. Grease an 8x8-inch baking pan and line it with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides for easy lifting.
2. Mix the wet ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and brown sugar until smooth and glossy. Add the molasses, egg, and vanilla extract and whisk until fully combined, about 1 minute.
3. Add the dry ingredients. Add the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt to the bowl. Stir with a rubber spatula until just combined — do not overmix. The batter will be thick.
4. Fold in the white chocolate. Gently fold in the white chocolate chips, reserving a small handful to press on top if you like.
5. Bake. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Scatter any reserved chips on top. Bake for 22 to 26 minutes, until the edges are set and the top looks just barely dry. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out with a few moist crumbs — not wet batter, but not clean either.
6. Cool completely. Let the blondies cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes before lifting out by the parchment. Cool fully on a wire rack before cutting into 16 squares. Cutting too early will leave them gummy in the center.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 195 | Protein: 2g | Fat: 9g | Carbs: 27g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 75mg