We had a wonderful Sunday here at the Metcalf household. Hubs and I enjoyed the sunshine and warmer weather: we took a long walk with Clem and ended up enjoying a drink outdoors at one of our favorite Fredericksburg joints, Kybecca. He got an Old Fashioned, his drink of choice, and I got a wonderful, springy drink that had grapefruit and bubbly. Yum!
Along the way, we did some blog brainstorming. I asked him what he was in the mood for and he said that he wanted carrot cake. Last spring, I made a large carrot cake that turned out well. For some reason, the idea of blondies popped into my head.
Blondies aren't usually my go-to dessert. I'm a chocolate girl all the way. But they just seemed right with this carrot cake idea. You can load yours with nuts, raisins, coconut, or whatever goodies you choose! That's the fun of this recipe.
Carrot Cake Blondies with Spiced Rum
Adapted from Once Upon a Chef
1/2 c. organic non-hydrogenated shortening, like Spectrum
1/2 c. coconut sugar
1/3 c. organic cane sugar
1 T. flax seed, ground
3 T. spiced rum, like Kraken
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. organic whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp. sea salt
1 c. carrots, shredded (about 3 mid-sized carrots)
1/2 c. pecans, chopped
1/2 c. raisins
2 T. unsweetened applesauce
heaping 1 T. cinnamon
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a 8x8 pan with parchment paper and spray it with a little olive oil or coconut oil.
In a small cup, combine the rum and flax seed. Stir. Set aside and let it thicken for 5-10 minutes.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the shortening, coconut sugar, cane sugar, and vanilla. Mix and scrape the sides as needed. Add in the applesauce, cinnamon, and flax mixture. After stir in the dry ingredients: flour and salt. Lastly, hand-stir in the carrots, pecans, and raisins - and whatever else you'd like.
Scoop the thick batter into your prepared pan. Smooth it out with a spatula. Bake the blondies for about 45 minutes. Allow them to cool completely before cutting.
Enjoy this fun spin on carrot cake - who doesn't love bite-sized pieces?!
Cheers,
-Aileen