Strawberry Lemon Blondies

Meet your new favorite Spring dessert. I'm officially obsessed with this Strawberry Lemon Blondie recipe that I found on The View from Great Island. I honestly wasn't sure what to expect. Normally when I hear "blondie" I think of a cookie bar, but you guys. This is so much more (and so much better) than that. It's somewhere in between cake and pound cake texture. It's dense yet so moist and you get pops of strawberry and lemon flavors in your mouth - like a Spring celebration happening in there. YUM. 

This delightful little dessert would make a great afternoon treat for the kiddos or a great dessert when you're having friends over for dinner. I can even see it served with some vanilla bean ice cream or homemade whipped cream. 

So what are you waiting for?! Put this on your list of things to bake this weekend and then, of course, tell me what you think. You're gonna love it!

STRAWBERRY LEMON BLONDIES

INGREDIENTS:

BLONDIES:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour 
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup diced fresh strawberries

GLAZE

• 1 cup unsifted weight powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 tbsp strawberry puree - I used 4 strawberries, instructions below
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Line a 9 inch square baking pan with parchment paper. Let the edges hang over the side a bit so you can easily lift the blondies out.
3. Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, then beat in the egg.
4. When the egg is fully incorporated, beat in the lemon juice.
5. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt, and add to the wet ingredients, mixing until no more dry flour is present.
6. Gently fold in the diced strawberries.
7. Spread the mixture into your pan and spread out as evenly as possible. The dough is thick, so this took me a bit of time.
8. Bake for 28-32 minutes, just until the edges start to turn golden and the center is set. A toothpick inserted in the center will be moist but not wet. Do not over-bake these or they will dry out! Let them cool on a cooling rack.
9. Trim the strawberries for the glaze and puree in a small food processor. Strain the puree through a small strainer to get 1 Tbsp of puree.
10. Whisk together the sugar, puree, and lemon juice until no lumps remain. If your glaze is too thin, add a touch more sugar. If it's too thick, add more lemon juice.
11. Spread the glaze over the cooled blondies and let the glaze set. Slice and serve!!

*recipe from The View from Great Island