Circus Animal Cookie Blondies

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Universal

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 35

Total Time: 45

Servings: servings

Calories: 124kcal

Author: Lauren

Crunchy frosted animal cookies, bright colorful sprinkles, and a thick, chewy blondie... these Circus Animal Cookie Blondies will be your next favorite treat! Such a fun twist on a childhood classic, I love making these easy-to-make, lightened-up blondies for any occasion!

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Ingredients

Animal Cookie Blondies:

1/2 cup cake pop or vanilla protein powder (62g)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour (90g)
1/4 cup granular sweetener (48g) I used Swerve
2 Tbsp brown sugar (24g) I used Swerve
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt (112g)
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (122g)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp light butter (28g) softened
2 Tbsp cashew butter (30g) or nut butter of choice
1/2 cup Circus Animal Cookies (47g) crushed
1 Tbsp rainbow sprinkles (12g)

Toppings:

1/2 cup Circus Animal Cookies (47g) crushed
1 Tbsp rainbow sprinkles (12g)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 8x8-inch baking dish with parchment paper and/or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, add the protein powder, flour, sweetener, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir dry ingredients until they are mixed well. Then add the yogurt, applesauce, vanilla, butter, and melted peanut butter chips. Using a hand mixer, mix to combine. Fold in the crushed animal cookies and sprinkles.
Pour the batter into the prepared dish. Top with the remaining crushed animal cookies and rainbow sprinkles.
Bake for 30-32 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.
Let blondies cool in the pan. If you wish to eat warm, cut into bars. If you prefer them cold, go ahead and store them in the fridge, covered, and cut into bars when you are ready to eat. They will be easier to cut the longer they have set.

Notes

Tips For The Best Blondies:

Let chill over night. For the best results, make the blondies and let them sit in the fridge overnight. They are good after they’ve cooled off from the oven, but I promise you they are 10x better when they are chilled and the flavors have had time to come together.
Don’t over-bake. These blondies actually still bake some when you remove them from the oven. I recommend taking them out when the edges are set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. This will result in the most gooey texture! Baking until the toothpick comes out totally clean will result in a more cakey blondie, which is not what we’re going for.
Store: Keep stored in an airtight container in the fridge.

Modifications:

To make gluten-free: Use Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour and gluten-free animal cookies.

To make vegan: use vegan protein powder, vegan butter, vegan yogurt, and make sure your sprinkles are vegan friendly. Replace peanut butter chips with peanut butter (gram for gram). Replace circus animal cookies with vegan cookies.

Nutrition