Jammie Dodger Blondies are a great variation on the classic delicious traybake. Easy to make and even easier to eat, the classic blondie packed with the crunch of the well loved biscuit. This easy blondie recipe needs no mixer and only one bowl or jug.
Easy Jammie Dodger blondies recipe
This recipe is a delicious variation on the classic traybake. Swirling jam through the mixture, and topping each blondie with a Jamie Dodger adds a great twist to my standard one bowl blondie recipe.
Simple and easy to make, using one jug or mixing bowl, one spoon with no need for a mixer. Quick too, taking only five minutes before going in the oven. These are a perfect treat to whip up in no time.
See also
- My easy Oreo blondies using chocolate sandwich biscuits.
- Nutella blondies, made with everybody’s favourite spread.
- Here are all my favourite best blondie recipes in one place!
I use mini Jammie Dodgers in this recipe, with one topping each blondie, which makes the traybake far easier to cut up, but you can equally use regular ones!
I generally do not add white chocolate to my blondies, as I find it makes them dense and oh so very sweet – I prefer the rich caramel flavours from the brown sugar and vanilla to shine through. If you love white chocolate read on for how to add some!
Small batch baking
This easy small batch recipe for blondies fits an 8″/20 cm square pan. This produces 12–16 servings that keep well for up to a week in an airtight cake tin.
I far prefer to make little and often – unless I need a large number for a party or event, I love having enough for myself for a week, with a few left over for visitors.
If you do want more, simply double the recipe quantities and use either two 8″/20cm square tins, or one 9″x13″ (23x33cm) tin.
What are Jammie Dodgers?
Jammie Dodgers are a well loved British favourite sweet biscuit. They come in the form of a round shortbread sandwich of two biscuits, with a cutout on the top one to show the jam filling. The cutout on
The jam is normally raspberry flavoured.
Why you will love this Jammie Dodger blondies recipe
- They’re easy to make. This is a recipe that needs one bowl, one mixing spoon and no need for any mixing machine.
- The results are delicious! The jam swirled through the blondie mix looks great and adds to the flavour.
- Blondies keep well. I keep a batch for up to a week simply in an airtight cake tin, kept on my kitchen counter.
- My standard bake makes 16 small blondies. But its easy to scale the recipe for bake sales or parties
Ingredients
- Jammie Dodgers – I use the mini version, topping each blondie with one biscuit.
- Jam – Raspberry or strawberry jam. For an intense flavour, use my mixed berry jam. I find it’s better to use a good quality jam, rather than a cheaper version that’s used too much sugar and artificial flavours.
- Butter – I use salted butter. If you have unsalted butter, add a pinch of salt too.
- Flour – I use plain with a pinch of baking powder, but if you normally use self-raising, that’s fine. If so, then don’t use any baking powder.
Pro Tip – Why Bake with Plain Flour?
I’m often asked why I bake with plain flour and add a raising agent rather than use self raising.
First – I don’t make recipes that would use self-raising that often, and the raising agent in the flour can go off. If you use a separate baking powder it is so much easier to check that it is still fresh.
To check for freshness, simply add 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder to 1/2 cup of hot water. It should fizz. If not, it needs to be replaced.
Second – My kitchen is small! If I keep both types of flour, it takes up more space.
- Soft brown sugar – This has more flavour than white sugar and helps to create that lovely fudgy effect. You can either use light as I did, or dark for a more intense flavour. Or use a mixture of both.
- Egg – One large free range egg
- Vanilla extract/paste – Vanilla extract is natural vanilla. Avoid the synthetic ‘essence’. I like to use vanilla paste which contains the seeds from the vanilla pod but you can use a liquid extract instead. Different brands vary in strength so get to know what you have and use it accordingly.
- White chocolate chips – these are optional. As always, using a better quality ingredient gives better results.
How to make easy Jammie Dodger blondies – step by step
Before you start, preheat your oven to 180° C / 160° C Fan / 356° F /Gas 4.
Read my step-by-step instructions, with photos, hints and tips so you can make this perfectly every time.
Scroll down for the recipe card with quantities and more tips at the bottom of the page. It’s important to be accurate when measuring out, as blondies rely on the right ratio between flour and butter to work.
Take an 8″ / 20 cm square baking tray and line with baking parchment.
There is no need to butter or grease, as this recipe has lots of butter in and will self grease the lining – I used to butter the lining and no longer bother – 30 plus batches later nothing has ever stuck to the liner.
Regular baking parchment is quite springy so I use foldback clips to hold it in place, or you can use the thicker (and more expensive) foil backed parchment (foil side to the tin) which stays put when you fold it.
Step One – Melt your butter. I do this in a jug in the microwave but you can use a saucepan on a very low heat or a bain marie if you prefer. Choose a jug, bowl or pan with space for all the ingredients.
Remember that you want to melt the butter but not heat it.
Helen’s Pro Tip
When melting in the microwave turn the power down to 30% and cover the container. Heat in 30 second bursts keeping an eye on it.
As butter melts it separates into fat and whey. If the watery whey boils it can explode, splattering melted butter all over the inside of your microwave. I’ve been there and got the cleaning the microwave tee shirt!I find the best thing to do when using the microwave is to melt the butter until it’s just over half melted. Then stir, and the heat will distribute through the butter and it will all liquify. This avoids overheating the butter.
Step Two – Add the sugar, egg and vanilla extract and stir in with a spoon.
If you have over heated and the butter is hot, stir in the sugar and vanilla before you add the egg. This will reduce the temperature of the mixture so that the egg doesn’t cook in the heat of the butter.
Step Three – Now add the flour. Stir in to form a smooth, glossy batter.
Because this recipe has a comparatively high amount of butter the batter needs a really good stir so the flour can absorb the fat.
Step Four – Transfer the blondie batter to the baking tray and smooth it out with a spatula, pushing the mixture to fill the corners of the pan.
Step Five – Spoon the jam onto the batter and then use the end of the spoon, or a chop stick to swirl it in.
Try and evenly swirl, getting the jam to the corners and the edges.
Step Six – Add the mini Jammie Dodgers arranging them in a 4 x 4 grid.
Step Seven – Bake your Jammie Dodgy blondies for about 30-35 minutes so that the edges are risen and slightly wrinkled. The centre (about the middle three inches) should still wobble a little if you shake the pan, but the edges will be firm.
It is best to err on the side of underbaking; the centre of the bake will carry on cooking as it cools.
The addition of extra ingredients means they take a little longer to cook than my original easy blondies recipe.
If you don’t have a fan oven you may need to turn the pan halfway through cooking to compensate for any hot spots. Do this as quickly and as gently as you can.
Step Eight – Allow the bake to cool and firm up for at least 20 minutes on a cooling rack before you cut them into squares (I find that a 4 x 4 grid is both easy and a good serving size).
Storage
These Jammie Dodger blondies will keep well for about 5 – 7 days. Wrap them in the baking parchment, before sealing them in an airtight tub to keep them fresh.
For a just baked experience, put them in the microwave for 10 seconds to warm. This will restore that delicious soft centre. They are delicious served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
To freeze, wrap the blondies well and keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Variations
- Make white chocolate Jammie Dodger blondies. Melt 75g white chocolate into the butter at step 1. Then add a generous handful of white chocolate chips. This will give a far denser and far sweeter final result.
- Replace 2 tbsp of flour with the same volume of custard custard powder for a more dessert-like flavour.
- I’ve used mini Jammie Dodgers but you can use the large ones. Break some up and fold through the batter and use the larger bits to decorate. However I like the mini ones as it makes slicing up the cooked baked easier as you are not slicing through biscuits too
- Turn your easy small batch jammie dodger blondies into a delicious dessert. Just microwave for ten seconds and then top with vanilla ice cream and hot fudge sauce.
Hints and tips
- These blondies do take 30-25 minutes to cook, so a little longer than my plain blondies.
- To double the recipe, use a 13″ x 9″ baking pan. Your Jammie Dodger blondies will be a bit deeper and take slightly longer to cook.
- All blondie recipes contain a little more fat than your average cake. It is important to take time to stir the flour in well so that the fat and flour combine fully.
- Use real butter! Real butter has a much better flavour than substitutes, is a more natural product and just works better when baking blondies. Go slowly when melting the butter in the microwave.
- Good vanilla is crucial to good baking. Vanilla extract contains real vanilla, while essence is often synthetically made and contains little or no actual vanilla.
FAQs
These blondies are mostly soft, except the edges will crisp up a little. They’re never as crunchy as a crunchy flapjack, though.
No, the oven isn’t hot enough to burn them. They do work well and add a delicious crunch to your blondies!
Yes, absolutely! Jammie Dodger biscuits are suitable for vegetarians, and as long as you eat butter, these biscuits are suitable too
The quantities used in this recipe work well with the 8″x 8″ tin; the blondies are the right thickness to bake through in the time.
Jammie Dodgers are a sandwich of shortbread and jam. If you can’t find them, you could substitute in plain shortbread broken into small pieces, or make one of my other blondie recipes.
More easy bakes
- Oreo brownies are my idea of chocolatey heaven.
- For a less sweet option, I love coffee blondies.
- How about peanut butter blondies – or even peanut butter brownies!
- Plenty of inspiration to be found at my easy brownie recipes roundup.
Jammie Dodger Blondies
Ingredients
- 115 g (1 Stick) butter (melted)
- 210 g (1 scant cup) light soft brown sugar (or dark)
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 125 g (1 cup) plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 80 g (.33 cups) jam (raspberry or strawberry)
- 16 mini Jammie Dodger biscuits (note 1)
White Chocolate Jammie Dodger Blondies
- 75 g white chocolate
- ½ cup white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180°C / 160°C Fan / Gas 4. Prepare an 8" / 20 cm square baking tin by lining with parchment paper. Having made blondies
- Put the butter into a large bowl or jug, and melt in the microwave in 10 seconds bursts on low power. Continue until the butter is melted but not hot. Alternatively, melt the butter over a pan of simmering water on the stove top.115 g butter
- Add the soft brown sugar, egg and vanilla, and stir in. (If the butter is hot, mix the sugar in first to avoid cooking the egg).210 g light soft brown sugar, 1 large egg, 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Fold in the flour and baking powder if using plain flour. Mix until you have a thick glossy batter.125 g plain flour, 1 tsp baking powder
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Give it a gentle shake to level it out.
- Add the jam to the top of the batter. Swirl it in with a chopstick or the end of a spoon until it's evenly distributed, but not mixed into the batter completely.80 g jam
- Top the mixture with the mini Jammie Dodgers, arranged in four rows of four.16 mini Jammie Dodger biscuits
- Bake for 30-35* minutes, until the blondies are set at the edges (which will have risen and become slightly wrinkled). There will be a shiny papery crust on top. The middle 3 inches / 7.5cm or so should be soft and still slightly wobbly. *If you don't have a fan oven you may need to turn the pan half way through cooking if your oven has hot spots. Do this as quickly and as gently as you can.
- Stand the tin on a wire rack and allow to cool completely (the centre will continue to cook in the residual heat). Then gently lift out of the pan and cut into 16 squares (4 x 4 pattern).
To make white chocolate Jammie Dodger Blondies
- Add and melt the white chocolate along with the butter at step 175 g white chocolate
- Stir in the white chocolate chips at step 4½ cup white chocolate chips
Notes
- To double the recipe, use a 13″ x 9″ baking pan. Your blondies will be a bit deeper and take slightly longer to cook.
- All blondie recipes contain a little more fat than your average cake. It is important to take time to stir the flour in well so that the fat and flour combine fully.
- Use real butter! Real butter has a much better flavour than substitutes, is a more natural product and behaves better when baking blondies.
- Good vanilla is crucial to good baking. Vanilla extract contains real vanilla, while essence is often synthetically made and contains little or no actual vanilla.
Louise
Thank you for this recipe – all the others ones I’ve tried are all far too sweet and dense. This one is perfect!
Jenny
Love that these are a reasonable size – the other recipes are so unhealthy.
Amy
These were just perfect. It is so good to see recipes for 2 that don’t use £££ of ingredients.