Skip to main content

maple brown sugar bourbon blondies

 

Besides the striking blonde color of these popular bar cookies, what makes a blondie a blondie?  Is it the lack of chocolate or is it the addition of brown sugar and the butter?  Or the maple or the bourbon?  Definitely not the maple or the bourbon, but don't leave those out.  Blondies have a dense texture, like a fudge brownie, neither gooey or cakey, we are not talking gooey bars here.  My vote is on the just right combination of brown sugar and the butter in the batter, they're just not blondies without a firm whisking to thicken these necessary ingredients. Also the nuts, I prefer chopped pecans sprinkled on top.  I've always been a fan of blondies, they are just so wholesome, almost a kind of health food.  I followed the NYT recipe fairly closely, with a few changes, so here is the recipe.

Maple Brown Sugar Bourbon Blondies Ingredients and Recipe 
Makes 16 bar cookies
1 stick or 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 large egg
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons bourbon
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup pecans, lightly chopped

Heat the oven to 350F

Grease or line an 8x8 pan with parchment

Combine the melted butter, sugar, salt, maple syrup, egg, vanilla and bourbon in a large bowl, whisk until a thick smooth batter forms.  Stir in the flour mixed with the baking powder.  Mix with a light hand until just combined and pour into the prepared pan.  Sprinkle the chopped pecans evenly over the top.  Bake for about 20-22 minutes or until bars are lightly browning and pulling away from the sides.  Cool on a rack.  Cut into squares.




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

springtime chamomile tea cake with strawberry icing

 Good grief, Easter is in the rear view mirror and we are deep into this new year.  And once again it's tea time at my house.  This chamomile tea cake is a beautiful sweet addition to any tea ritual, especially my favorite, chamomile tea, which I rediscovered in my hotel room in Carmel earlier this fast moving year.  I highly recommend a slice of chamomile tea cake with strawberry 🍓 icing with a cup of chamomile tea to just take a moment and slow this year down.  Baking with tea is both creative and fun.  Earlier this year I made Earl Gray sugar cookies which are made using the same method of infusing the butter with loose tea.  For my tea cake I also rubbed the lemon zest into the sugar -another way to lend a pop of citrus to your baking. The strawberry icing is made using freeze dried strawberries, I pulverize them in my spice mill and then they are pressed through a fine sieve into the confectioner's sugar.  In addition to using lemon zest rub...

kale quinoa apple pecan salad with feta

Salade Kale Quinoa Apple Pecan with Feta  1&1/2 cups water or vegetable broth  3/4 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained 1/2 cup dried cranberries  6 cups curly leaf kale, washed, rinsed, trimmed and chopped Sea salt  1 Fuji apple, cored and thinly sliced 1 small shallot, thinly sliced 1/3 cup toasted pecans, chopped 2 ounces crumbled Feta 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard  1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon maple syrup 1 tablespoon lemon juice Piment d’Espelette, to taste, or a generous pinch Freshly ground fermented white pepper, to taste In a medium saucepan bring the water or vegetable broth to a boil and add the quinoa, reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes or until water is absorbed and quinoa is tender.  Fluff with a fork and place the cranberries on top.  Cover the pan and let steam for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, place the kale in a large salad bowl and season with the sea salt, rub in about 1 teaspoon salt and massage with y...

artichoke, green olive and caper tapenade

artichoke, green olive and caper tapenade serves 6 We spent last weekend with friends at their country home.  They made dinner at home one night so  I brought a couple of appetizers to share.  My tapenade is easy to make, just spoon the blended artichoke mix into a terrine then pack in an ice chest for a short road trip.  I like to serve it spread on small crisp crackers but toasted sliced baguette works well too.  Save a sprinkle of capers for the top of your tapenade before serving and enjoy. recipe for artichoke, green olive and caper tapenade  serves 6 One 14 ounce jar of artichoke hearts packed in water, drained and cut into quarters 1/3 cup pitted green olives, I like Castelvetrano green olives 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons capers, plus extra for sprinkling on top 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice  2 cloves garlic, minced Aleppo pepper to taste, I use a scant 1/4 teaspoon Sea salt to taste Place the artichokes, olives, olive oil, capers,...