Saturday, July 10, 2010

Blondies....the "un" Brownie



It was sometime last year that my friend Shane (Culinary Alchemy), over at BakeSpace, posted a recipe for his delectable blondies. It kinda went viral..... at least it did with the folks we chat with at BakeSpace. I was a little unsure about them, however, since I'm a brownie lover..... I wasn't so sure I would like something so un-chocolate. Michele (My Italian Grandmother)  added some chocolate chips and called them "Blondies with Low Lights" and raved over them. Finally, I broke down and made a batch....and another....and another. Guess what? I like them better than brownies. Who'd a thunk it? Check out Shane's original blog post: Blondies- The UN-Chocolate "Brownie"  I almost followed his recipe:

Blondies

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

3/4 cup Unsalted Butter
1 1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Dark brown Sugar
2 Large eggs
1 large Egg Yolk
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 1/4 cups AP Flour
1 tsp Kosher Salt
1 Cup Chopped Pecans
(optional) 1/4 cup Heath Toffee Chips

Directions:

Line a 13x9 pan with parchment.




The parchment paper is critical. Let it hang over the edge of the pan, so you can lift them out, cut them, and put them back in to store. I don't know about you, but I always have a problem with the parchment paper curling up, so I spray the bottom of the pan with some cooking spray.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a sauce pan, melt butter.

Stir in the brown sugars, stirring until "melted' and the mixture just begins to bubble (This is similar to making a Pecan pie)---heed the "just begins to bubble" part. If it cooks too long, your blondies will be as hard as a rock.


Oops...I only had light brown sugar so I added a tablespoon of molasses. It's OK if you use all of one kind of brown sugar....I've made them both ways---both yummy.

Whisk eggs and yolks together with Vanilla.

Pour in the eggs in a steady stream, while whisking constantly to prevent scrambling.


OK...I did have a few scrambled eggs in there. It was all good in the end.

In a small bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt.


Fold Flour into the egg mixture.

Fold in Pecans and toffee chips (if using)



Here's where I differed just a bit from the recipe. I used about a cup and a half of pecans and I used about a cup chocolate covered toffee bits. Subtle "low lights" , if you will.


Spread into the pan.



Bake 35-40 minutes (5 minutes less for dark pans)

Remove from oven and cool on a rack.

Lift via parchment and cut when cooled.



If I'm bringing these to work, I put them back into my pan and cover with the lid. Easy...plus no one puts knife marks in your pan if they are already cut. :)



I guarantee you'll be making these again.

15 comments:

  1. Those are the best looking blondies I have seen. You didn't skimp on the good add-ins

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  2. Those blondies look really amazing. I'm bookmarking them right now!! ;)

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  3. YAY!!!! Blondies!!!!! Oh, man! Now I need to go makes some for myself, cause it's been WAY too long, and those are lookin lusciously delicious! Awesome!!

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  4. YUM! Best blondies, ever!!! I can't take credit for the cute name though - that was all shane.

    I think I'll need to make these again very soon!

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  5. Amazing recipe, can't wait to try it. Toffee chips aren't even available in this country and I'm going to break into my smuggled horde to make these blondies. Thanks!

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  6. dang, I totally keep spacing these brownies...I gotta make these for Jim because he doesn't care that much for chocolate. Perhaps we can compromise and put heath bar in them??? OH DANG!

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  7. These look delicious! The Booze Hound (see my blog for explanation: www.food-hound.blogspot.com) said he wanted blondies for his birthday treat this year, and voila, I now have the recipe!!

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  8. Love blondies. I make them with the non-chocolate toffee chips and they are great too. Thanks for sharing.

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  9. These are super insanely delicious!!

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  10. I LOVE these things!! I've made them so many many times and have people at work who crave them. Only thing is...I've never put the tofee chips in them

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  11. Those look great! I just made a version with white chocolate chips, so does that make them "hi lights"? ;)

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  12. Well, I made them and these are definitely delicious.
    I ate too much of them, so I froze a couple of pieces for later and gave the rest to my sisters

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  13. Yup, I'll be making these! Anything with Heath bar bits is a must try!

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