Key Lime White Chocolate Chip Blondie Bites

My husband had a birthday recently. He's 31 this year and life has been busy, so I didn't throw a party or anything (he had a very fun 30th!), but I still wanted to make sure it's a special day. So, I took him out for a steak at Bavette's (his choice-- and I did not complain) and I made him a birthday treat to take to take to work.

Alex has a big sweet tooth (and yet, he's really skinny... go figure), but I know that there are a few things that are on his favorites list: donuts (which I won't attempt to make on my own), red velvet cupcakes (made those for his 28th), cookie cakes (made for his 29th), anything with Nutella (he got these confetti cupcakes with Nutella frosting for his 30th birthday), and finally, key lime pie. I considered making him a key lime pie or mini pies, but figured that those would not transport to work very well. So, instead I decided to pull the great flavors of key lime pie into another treat that Alex loves: blondies!

I love blondies because they are so buttery in flavor, easy to make, and can be totally customized with different mix-ins. For these blondies, I stirred in key lime juice for that great tart sweet key lime flavor, added sweet white chocolate chips, and baked them in mini muffin pans so that they were already perfectly portioned little bites for Alex to share with his co-workers.

I loved the bright citrus flavor in these little bites, but after sampling one from the first batch, I decided that they needed a little something more for the flavor to really pop. So, I whisked up a simple tangy key lime glaze to drizzle over the top and it was the perfect complement to these buttery little bites!

Happy happy birthday, hubby!


Ingredients:

For the blondie bites--

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. lime zest
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup key lime juice
• 1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips

For the icing--

• 1 cup confectioner's sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 Tbs. key lime juice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a mini muffin pan with cooking spray and set aside.

Melt butter in a large microwave safe bowl. Stir in the sugars until fully incorporated and allow the mixture to cool to room temperature.

In a separate medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, and lime zest.

Beat the eggs, vanilla, and key lime juice into the butter and sugar mixture. Whisk in the dry ingredients a little bit at a time until fully incorporated and a smooth batter is formed. Fold in the white chocolate chips.

Drop the batter by large spoonfuls into the mini muffin cups, filling each cup about 3/4 of the way up. Bake for 11-13 minutes, until golden around the edges and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool slightly and then remove from the muffin pan and cool to room temperature on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, whisk confectioner's sugar, vanilla, and key lime juice together. Drizzle icing over the tops of the blondie bites and let them sit for an additional 10 minutes (to allow icing to set) before serving or storing.


Looking for more treats? Try Raspberry Swirl Lemon Cake Bars or Black Bottom Cupcakes!