Piña Colada Blondies with Toasted Coconut Glaze

A beautiful sunset, toes in the sand and a Piña Colada in your hand. Sounds like paradise doesn't it? Unfortunately it doesn't happen all that often, even though I live in Hawaii.  So I came up with the next best thing - Piña Colada Blondies with Toasted Coconut Glaze.

What is a blondie you may ask?  Well, I used to think that they were supposed to be like brownies without the chocolate, but they really are more cake-like and not dense at all.  There are many recipes for blondies but I loosely based mine on a recipe by Martha Stewart, and then gave it a pineapple and coconut twist.

As the song says, "If you like piña colada's", then you will love these blondies. Well, that is not quite the lyrics but after one bite you will want to change them just like I did. I loved the crushed pineapple in them because it kind of melted into the cake, and the glaze on top is pure coconut goodness. This recipe will make 9 large blondies, and can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.

Piña Colada Blondies with Toasted Coconut Glaze
(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients
Blondies ~

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1½ cups crushed pineapple, well drained (reserve the liquid)
• 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
• 2 tablespoons Malibu® coconut rum or coconut essence 
• ¼ cup pineapple juice (from reserved liquid)

Glaze ~

• 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 3 tablespoons cream of coconut (I used Coco Lopez)
• 2 tablespoons Malibu® coconut rum or coconut essence
• 1 teaspoon hot water
• ½ cup sweetened flaked coconut, toasted

Preparation
Blondies ~

1. Preheat oven to 350℉.
2. Line a buttered 8-inch square baking pan with foil or parchment paper, allowing a 2-inch overhang, and butter lining (excluding overhang).
3. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
4. Put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
5. Add eggs, Malibu, coconut, and pineapple juice, and mix until combined.
6. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, mix for 1 minute then stop the mixer and scrape the paddle and sides of the bowl with a spatula.  Continue to mix for another minute, or until well combined.
7. Pour batter into prepared pan spreading evenly with a spatula.
8. Bake until golden brown and a cake tester inserted into blondies comes out with a few crumbs but is not wet, about 40 to 45 minutes.
9. Cool slightly in pan for about 15 minutes, and then lift out onto a wire rack and let cool completely.
10. Whilst blondies are cooling toast coconut  - preheat oven to 350℉, place coconut on a tray lined with parchment and put in the oven, stirring every 5 minutes until golden brown - keep an eye on it as it can burn quickly.

Glaze ~

1. Place sifted powdered sugar in a bowl, add cream of coconut, Malibu, and water and stir until smooth.
2. Once blondies are cool, gently spoon glaze over the top allowing it to run over the sides.
3. Sprinkle blondies with toasted coconut and cut into bars.

Recipe by All That's Left Are The Crumbs©