Smitten Kitchen’s Blondies – RecipeTin Eats

July 12, 2024

18

Blondies are butterscotch-flavoured bars which have a texture just like brownies. I can virtually assure these will change into your go-to baking recipe from at the present time forth when you see how easy and customisable they’re!

Blondies (butterscotch bars)

That is Smitten Kitchen’s Blondie recipe, verbatim. Which, in case you are as a lot of a Smitten Kitchen fan as I’m, is all you could know to move into the kitchen, instantly 🙂

It is vitally uncommon for me to share a recipe with out fidgeting with it not directly. However when a recipe is as easy and good as this, and after I’ve tried to fiddle and failed, and tried quite a few different blondie recipes which have been extra concerned but not nearly as good, there’s simply no have to muck round.

So thanks Deb, in your sensible Blondie recipe! (Additionally thanks in your Blueberry Pie, New York Crumb Cake and Challah recipes. 🙂 )

What Blondies style like

Blondies are apparently named as such as a result of they’re the pale model of chocolate brownies. Like brownies, they’re moreishly chewy within the center, have faintly crispy edges and the signature paper-thin crackly floor.

However relatively than tasting of white chocolate, they’re butterscotch flavoured. And this explicit recipe truly, actually tastes of butterscotch because of the addition of browned butter relatively than common melted butter. Which suggests … extra-nutty, buttery flavour just by simmering melted butter for a couple of minutes earlier than mixing it into the batter (significantly, that’s all it’s important to do).

I promise it’s value it. Superior flavour for little or no further effort. I actually simply plonk the butter within the saucepan then whereas it’s simmering, I line the pan and measure out the opposite elements. Very environment friendly workflow!

Brown butter in a small silver skillet with a spoon. — Simply simmer melted butter for a couple of minutes = browned butter!

Components in Blondies

Ignore the white choc chips and brownies. Mentally change with what you’ve obtained available. This is a superb one for rounding up leftovers fruit and nuts to throw in!

Butter – Simply unsalted butter, straight out of the fridge. No want to melt, how good is that!
Brown sugar – Both mild brown sugar or common brown sugar. Gentle brown sugar will make the Blondie paler, however common brown sugar offers it a nicer butterscotch flavour. White sugar gained’t end in the identical flavour.
Plain flour / all-purpose flour – Not self elevating flour which has baking powder constructed during which would make it puff up.
Egg – Only one “giant egg” (which is ~50g / 2 oz every, offered in cartons labelled “giant eggs” or are ~600g/1.2 lb for a dozen carton). Fridge chilly is ok, no have to convey to room temp.
Vanilla extract – For flavour. Vanilla extract trumps vanilla essence (which is imitation). I personally wouldn’t waste vanilla beans on this recipe – too treasured!
Salt – Cooking salt / kosher salt (coarse salt grains) for mixing into the batter and sea salt flakes (elective) for sprinkling on the floor.
Add ins – Use 1 1/2 cups of something you need that you simply suppose will go nicely with butterscotch / caramel flavours! Listed here are some solutions
- White chocolate chips and walnuts (pictured) – nod to conventional chocolate brownies
- White chocolate and macadamia nuts – tried this, it’s stellar (suppose – simpler model of Byron Bay copycat White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies)
- White chocolate and hazelnuts or almonds – deliberate for my subsequent batch
- Sultanas, raisins, chopped prunes/dates- I see Sticky Date Pudding flavours
- Dried apples – don’t attempt to inform me apple + caramel doesn’t work!
- Peanuts – peanuts with caramel, I imply, come on! 100% hit each time!
- Chocolate chips and peanuts – a chocolate peanut butter cake in bar type (that’s 5x quicker to make!)
- Biscoff or different cookie chunks – why not? You get cookie chunks in ice cream!

I’m going to cease there in any other case I’ll by no means get onto the making half. 🙂 However, you get the thought. If it goes with caramel, you possibly can add it!

How one can make Blondies

In case you missed my mini rant above – please don’t skip the browned butter. It’s no more durable than simmering a saucepan of water but it surely infinitely improves the flavour!

Brown the butter

Simmer butter – Soften the butter, ideally in a silver saucepan*, over medium excessive warmth. As soon as melted, decrease the warmth if wanted so the butter is simmering gently. It is going to spit gently (don’t fear, it’s minor, not scary) and can go foamy.

* Non black saucepan works greatest so you possibly can examine for golden specks (subsequent step) which signifies it’s accomplished.
How one can inform browned butter is prepared – Simmer the butter for 4 to five minutes, stirring each minute or so, till it smells nutty and also you see little golden specks (you’ll have to wade by a layer of froth to examine).

As quickly because it’s accomplished, pour it right into a mixing bowl, being positive to scrape in all of the golden bits!

make the batter

Add sugar into the butter, combine, then let it cool for 3 minutes.
End batter – Add the egg and vanilla, then combine. Add the flour and salt, then combine once more. Add the chocolate chips and walnuts (or no matter add-ins you’re utilizing) and blend by. It is going to be fairly a thick combination, nearly like roll-able cookie dough.

bake!

Bake – Scrape and press the combination in a 20cm/8″ baking paper lined pan (parchment paper). Make sure that there’s loads of paper overhang so you possibly can carry it out relatively than flipping it the wrong way up.
Bake for 25 minutes till the perimeters are tinged with mild golden and there’s a paper-thin crackly floor (like…brownies!). They may really feel just a little undercooked within the center – that’s good! They’re meant to be just a little sticky and chewy inside. No one likes dry blondies!

Sprinkle with salt flakes (if utilizing). Allow them to cool for 10 minutes within the pan, carry out utilizing the paper overhang then cool for an extra 10 minutes earlier than slicing into 16 regular squares or 9 very giant items. (You might skip the second 10 minute cooling time if you happen to’re impatient however the slicing will likely be a bit smeary. Sure, in fact I’m talking from expertise right here. Endurance is just not my biggest advantage!)

Seize and devour, or make it dinner-party worthy

Take them to e-book membership. Serve for morning tea. Tuck them into lunch containers. And take them on street journeys.

I even have a imaginative and prescient of how I’d flip it right into a plated dessert, for events the place you need to serve it “correctly” relatively than consuming it together with your arms. I’d serve it on a plate, ever so barely warmed, with a scoop of ice cream on high, a sprinkle of chopped nuts, and a drizzle of sizzling butterscotch sauce (use the recipe from right here).

Completely banquet worthy! – Nagi x

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Smitten Kitchen’s Blondies – RecipeTin Eats

Blondies (butterscotch bars)

What Blondies style like

Components in Blondies