Smitten Kitchen’s Blondies – RecipeTin Eats

July 13, 2024

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Blondies are butterscotch-flavoured bars which have a texture much like brownies. I can virtually assure these will change into one in every of your go-to baking recipes 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 that you must know to go into the kitchen, instantly 🙂

It is rather 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 once I’ve tried to fiddle and failed, and tried various different blondie recipes which had been extra concerned but not pretty much as good, there’s simply no must muck round.

So thanks Deb, in your good 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 moderately 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 moderately than common melted butter. Which implies … extra-nutty, buttery flavour just by simmering melted butter for a couple of minutes earlier than mixing it into the batter (critically, that’s all it’s a must to do).

I promise it’s price it. Superior flavour for little or no additional effort. I actually simply plonk the butter within the saucepan then whereas it’s simmering, I line the pan and measure out the opposite components. 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!

Elements in Blondies

Ignore the white choc chips and walnuts. Mentally change with what you’ve bought readily available. This is a wonderful 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 gentle 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 lead to the identical flavour.
Plain flour / all-purpose flour – Not self elevating flour which has baking powder constructed wherein would make it puff up.
Egg – Only one “giant egg” (which is ~50g / 2 oz every, bought in cartons labelled “giant eggs” or are ~600g/1.2 lb for a dozen carton). Fridge chilly is ok, no must carry 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 valuable!
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 just suppose will go effectively with butterscotch / caramel flavours! Listed here are some options
- 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 kind (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 concept. If it goes with caramel, you may add it!

Easy methods to 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 nevertheless it 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 should spit gently (don’t fear, it’s minor, not scary) and can go foamy.

* Non black saucepan works greatest so you may test for golden specks (subsequent step) which signifies it’s carried out.
Easy methods to 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 must wade by means of a layer of froth to test).

As quickly because it’s carried out, 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 might be utilizing) and blend by means of. Will probably be fairly a thick combination, virtually like roll-able cookie dough.

bake!

Bake – Scrape and press the combination in a 20cm/8″ baking paper lined pan (parchment paper). Make certain there’s loads of paper overhang so you may carry it out moderately than flipping it the other way up.
Bake for 25 minutes till the sides are tinged with gentle golden and there’s a paper-thin crackly floor (like…brownies!). They are going to really feel somewhat undercooked within the center – that’s good! They’re meant to be somewhat sticky and chewy inside. No person 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 reducing into 16 regular squares or 9 very giant items. (You may skip the second 10 minute cooling time in the event you’re impatient however the reducing will likely be a bit smeary. Sure, after all I’m talking from expertise right here. Endurance shouldn’t be 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 packing containers. And tackle 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” moderately than consuming it together with your palms. I’d serve it on a plate, ever so barely warmed, with a scoop of ice cream on prime, a sprinkle of chopped nuts, and a drizzle of sizzling butterscotch sauce (use the recipe from right here).

Completely feast worthy! – Nagi x

Watch methods to make it

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Smitten Kitchen’s Blondies – RecipeTin Eats

Blondies (butterscotch bars)

What Blondies style like

Elements in Blondies