Carrot Cake Blondies
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Soft, chewy, and thick Carrot Cake Blondies are the perfect addition to a Spring gathering, Easter or any time you’re craving a slice carrot cake in a decadent, rich bar form. Topped with a sweet cream cheese frosting and will become your new favorite carrot cake dessert!
PIN these Carrot Cake Blondie Bars to try later!
Carrot Cake Blondies
These Carrot Cake Blondies or Carrot Cake Brownies are so much easier to make than a whole carrot cake and packed with all the same flavors. You don’t have to worry about any layers, frosting or decorating and is quicker to make.
These bars are everything I dream about in a carrot cake but are much more dense, with a brownie-like texture. They are the perfect size and can be made a day ahead.
Carrot Cake is one of my favorite desserts, ever! Sometimes I’ll even request a carrot cake on my birthday because I love it so much so this is one of my favorite recipes, especially during Spring time. Theres just something about the warm spices paired with a tangy cream cheese frosting that makes this sweet treat the best combo.
Other Carrot Cake recipes you’ll love is my Cream Cheese Stuffed Carrot Cake Muffins, Carrot Bundt Cake, Cheesecake Carrot Cake Bars, and Frosted Carrot Cake Cookies.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
key ingredients
- Grated carrots: The star ingredient! I highly recommend shredding your own fresh carrots with a box grater to ensure soft and tender muffins. It’s best to use a SMALL HOLE when grating the carrots- the smaller, the better. You’ll need about 3-4 medium carrots.
- Egg: We use a whole egg and egg yolk to help bind the ingredients together and adds richness.
- All-purpose flour: Spoon and level the flour when measuring it. Be sure not to scoop it out of the bag using the measuring cup. This way, you won’t accidentally measure out too much.
- Warm spices: Ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground ginger are used to make the traditional “carrot cake flavor”.
- Baking powder: Used as a leavening agent to make the bars get puffy just a bit and rise.
- Salted butter: If you use unsalted butter, make sure to add 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the recipe. Make sure the butter is melted and cooled to get an extra decadent flavor.
- Brown sugar: Makes the bars sweet and super chewy.
how to make Carrot Cake Blondies
Prepare pan: Grease a 8×8 inch or 9×9 inch baking pan or line with parchment paper and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Whisk butter and sugar: In a large mixing bowl, add melted butter and brown sugar. Whisk together then add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract.
Add carrots: Fold in shredded carrots.
Combine flour and spices: In a small or medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients: Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until combined and there isn’t any white steaks of flour in the batter.
Bake blondies: Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center. (If you use a 9×9 inch pan, it will need less baking time than a 8×8 inch pan)
To make Cream Cheese Frosting
Beat cream cheese and butter: In a medium bow, beat together the cream cheese and butter with an electric hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer until combined.
Add in vanilla extract and lemon juice: Mix again.
Mix in powdered sugar: Add in 2 cups of powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Add more powdered sugar to get a thicker frosting or more lemon juice to thin it out.
Cool bars, frost, and serve: Let the bars cool completely, then spread the frosting on top. Garnish the top with chopped nuts or leave plain. Place in the refrigerator to chill or cut into 16 bars and enjoy immediately.
pro tips
- Don’t squeeze out excess moisture from the carrots. I did this one time and they came out super dry to say the least. The moisture from the carrots will make these bars ultra moist and soft.
- Chilled bars: I love these Carrot Cake Blondies when they are chilled the most so I always set mine in the refrigerator for at least an hour to get cold.
- Brown butter: If you want to take these bars up another notch, brown the butter first using these method from this recipe.
recipe variations
- Frosting layer: If you want the frosting layer to be extra thick, add it all. I use about 70% of the frosting but you can customize the frosting layer to your preference.
- Size: We cut these blondies into 16 bars but you could also cut them into 9 bigger squares to make larger servings. You can also cut them into triangles if you want to get fancy!
- Other Add Ins: Raisins, chopped nuts, cinnamon chips, chocolate chips, and lemon or orange zest make great options.
leftovers & storage
Store in refrigerator: Place any leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Enjoy cold or let them come to room temperature for a few minutes.
To freeze: Place baked frosted or unfrosted bars in a ziplock bag or airtight container. You could also wrap the baking dish with plastic wrap and aluminum foil. If you need to layer the bars, place a layer of parchment paper in between each layer to prevent sticking. Freeze for up to 3 months.
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Carrot Cake Blondies
Ingredients
Carrot Cake Bars
- 1 cup salted butter melted and cooled
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 1 lare whole egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 1 cup finely grated carrots
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened at room temperature
- 1/4 cup salted butter softened at room temperature
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 2-3 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
To make Carrot Cake Bars
- Grease a 8×8 inch or 9×9 inch baking pan or line with parchment paper and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large mixing bowl, add melted butter and brown sugar. Whisk together then add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract.
- Fold in shredded carrots.
- In a small or medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until combined and there isn't any white steaks of flour in the batter.
- Pour batter into greased pan and bake for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center. (If you use a 9×9 inch pan, it will need less baking time than a 8×8 inch pan)
To make Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a medium bow, beat together the cream cheese and butter with an electric hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer until combined.
- Add in vanilla extract and lemon juice and mix again.
- Add in 2 cups of powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Add more powdered sugar to get a thicker frosting or more lemon juice to thin it out.
- Let the bars cool completely, then spread the frosting on top. Garnish the top with chopped nuts or leave plain. Place in the refrigerator to chill or cut into 16 bars and enjoy immediately.
