It’s that time of year again! If you’ve been following for a while, you’ll know that I’m fruit mince pie obsessed. I used absolutely to hate the store bought versions and it wasn’t until I started making my own that I started to love them. Now I feel like I’ve perfected the fruit mince mixture, and my family requests them every year. There’s something a little meditative about chopping apricots and mixing the dried fruit – usually late at night – during the December madness.

Although I will still be making my Fruit Mince Crumble Pies this year, I wanted to try something different too. That’s how these Fruit Mince Blondies were born. If you have no patience for making pastry, these little babies will be your best friends. A blondie is just like a brownie but without the chocolate, which gives you a chewy, fudgy and rich slice that will definitely please a crowd. 

These Fruit Mince Blondies are reeeeally easy to make. Just some melting and stirring all in one bowl. No mixers, food processors, rolling pins or any other special equipment required! They taste sooo good, retain their freshness and texture for a long time and are perfect to give as little homemade Christmas gifts. 

Let’s go over how the recipe for these Fruit Mince Blondies comes together…

Firstly, you’ll want to make your fruit mince. The good news is that this can be done well in advance, or even kinda last minute. I like to make it a day or two before so the flavours have enough time to meld together nicely. And again, apart from a bit of chopping and stirring, this all happens in one bowl. Easy peasy.

Next up, you’ll want to prep your baking pan. I used a 21cm (roughly 8 inch) square baking dish with a removable bottom to make it easy on myself. This will give you quite tall blondies with high sides, which I personally love. Lots of room for these blondies to be generously studded with the fruit mince. If you don’t have a square pan, a regular brownie pan is more than fine but your blondies may be a little less tall on the sides. You will want to line whichever pan you’re using with some non-stick baking paper.

Now, the fun part. Start mixing everything in one large bowl starting with the melted butter and sugar, then eggs, vanilla. The dry ingredients go in next, which is your flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Portion out half of the fruit mince mixture – this recipe will make more than you need but keep the rest for a second batch of blondies or to swirl through no-churn ice cream (so good).

Fold through half of what’s remaining through the blondie mixture and pour into the prepared baking pan. Dollop the rest over the top and now it’s time to bake!

Bake for about 45 minutes – 1 hour. My batch took a little longer because my square pan was deeper but as with regular brownies, under-baking these a little is just fine. They should be set and lightly golden on top. Allow them to cool completely in the pan before you remove and cut them up. Don’t be impatient here, because they will fall apart.

That’s it! I absolutely love the texture of these blondies – rich and fudgy, studded with tasty plump fruit. You can choose to serve in a stack at your Christmas gathering or keep them on hand in case unexpected guests come around. You could also package them in little cellophane bags to give as lovely homemade gifts. They’re also really, really good with some ice cream or custard!

Related Post: Fruit Mince Wreath

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Fruit Mince Blondies

These fudgy Fruit Mince Blondies make a delicious Christmas dessert or a lovely homemade gift. They are generously studded with spiced fruit and are so easy to make – no mixer required!

Course Bars, Brownies and Blondies, Cake, Dessert

Keyword Bars, Brownies and Blondies, Cake, Christmas, Slices

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 1 hour

Servings 16

Ingredients

Fruit Mince (you will use half of this in the blondie recipe and have some left over)

• 200 g sultanas
• 100 g dried cranberries
• 80 g dates, de-seeded and chopped
• 80 g dried apricots or peaches, finely chopped
• 150 g brown sugar
• 1 apple, grated
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon Chinese five spice (or mixed spice)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger, fresh
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 50 g butter, melted
• 30 ml spiced rum, see note

Fruit Mince Blondie

• 225 g butter, melted
• 440 g light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 250 g plain flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

1. To make the fruit mince filling mixture, place all ingredients into a bowl and mix well to fully combine. Set aside for at least 30 minutes to infuse. You can make this days ahead and keep covered in the fridge if you like!
2. Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F). Line a 21cm (8 inch) square baking pan with non-stick baking paper.
3. To make the blondies, mix melted butter with brown sugar and beat until smooth. Beat in egg and then vanilla. Stir in flour, baking powder and cinnamon.
4. Divide fruit mince filling in half. We will only be using half of it for this recipe. Store the remaining fruit mince in a jar or covered in the fridge.
5. Fold half of the remaining fruit mince into the blondie mixture and then pour into the baking pan. Dollop the other half of the fruit mince over the top.
6. Bake for 45 minutes – 1 hour, rotating the pan at the 30 minute mark. When ready, the blondie should be lightly golden on top and just set in the middle. A skewer inserted into the middle should come out clean or with very few crumbs sticking to it. Allow to cool completely before removing from the baking pan and cutting up. Serve dusted with icing sugar.