Blondies with Parsnips, Cinnamon and White Chocolate
Makes one dozen Blondies (I admit that I always double my brownie recipes)
Batter:
1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp fine sea salt
1 cup dark brown sugar
16 Tbsp (two sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs, room temperature and lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla paste
1 cup freshly grated parsnips (usually one large parsnip)
½ cup white chocolate morsels
Streusel Topping:
½ cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp nut flour (I prefer hazelnut)
2 Tbsp dark brown sugar
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp fine sea salt
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, chilled and diced into ¼” cubes
To Finish:
½ cup white chocolate morsels, melted and poured into a piping bag
1) Make the streusel topping. Whisk together the dry ingredients. Cut in the chilled butter in small chunks until the mix looks like sand. Work with your fingers to gather the dough into small clumps. Set aside
2) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line an 8x8” pan with two sheets of parchment paper leaving a small overhang on all four sides.
3) Whisk together the dry mix: flour, spices and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, melted butter and then the eggs. Fold in the grated parsnips. Fold in the dry until everything is moistened. Finally, fold in the white chocolate morsels. Spread the finished batter evenly in the prepared pan.
4) Crumble the streusel topping evenly over the batter and lightly press in with your hand. Bake the blondie for 30-35 minutes until lightly browed and center is set. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.
5) Melt the final ½ cup white chocolate chips using a double boiler, or a microwave (zapping in 20 second bits and stirring after each zap) until fully melted and smooth. Pour the chocolate into a small piping bag, cut an 1/8” opening at the top and pipe the chocolate diagonally over the cooled blondie.
6) Cut the blondie into twelve (or nine!) pieces.
