Blondie recipe?

[Becky]

I'm looking for a good blondie recipe and wondering if anyone had any good recommendations...? I've read good things about the Stella Parks recipe so I'm tempted to get her book, but it's £21 here in the UK.

Ideally I'd like to add white choc chips and pecans, but I guess I could add those to any recipe. Blondies aren't something I've made much before, weirdly. I made some vegan peanut butter blondies a while back but I'd like to try something new if possible.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Becky]

Oh crikey, I've been reading through recipe books via Amazon's 'Look inside' thing and my mouth is literally watering!! Annoyingly it skips the recipe for Stella Park's blondies (shows the pages before and after, I guess it's a popular one) but it's great to get a feel for the book. I've also managed to find another book called 'Sweet' by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh which looks superb. So now I've gone from thinking "should I spend £20 on a book?" to "I think I'm going to spend £40 on two books"

OMG WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Oh crikey, I've been reading through recipe books via Amazon's 'Look inside' thing and my mouth is literally watering!! Annoyingly it skips the recipe for Stella Park's blondies (shows the pages before and after, I guess it's a popular one) but it's great to get a feel for the book. I've also managed to find another book called 'Sweet' by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh which looks superb. So now I've gone from thinking "should I spend £20 on a book?" to "I think I'm going to spend £40 on two books"

OMG WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME

lol--those darn cookbooks will make you into a penniless hoarder! She who dies with the most cookbooks wins

I've had this blondie recipe paged marked, but I haven't tried it. Its on David Lebovitz's blog, but its Claire Ptak's recipe. Both Lebovitz and Ptak are alumni of Chez Panisse, one of the most influential restaurants in the US. I eyed this recipe because burnt sugar is a weakness.

https://www.davidlebovitz.com/butterscotch-caramel-blondies-recipe-claire-ptak-violet-bakery/

 

[Becky]

Ooh that recipe looks really interesting, I would never had thought to put shards of hard caramel on the top. Do you think he heated the sugar to hard crack stage? I couldn't see a temperature in the recipe, and I don't trust myself to gauge it on eye alone

Buying some silicone baking mats now... I managed not to impulse buy both books, I'm going to leave them on my wishlist and see what happens (birthday is in August, so fingers crossed). I really need to have a clear out of my recipe books though, I have far too many and there are plenty I hardly use.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Ooh that recipe looks really interesting, I would never had thought to put shards of hard caramel on the top. Do you think he heated the sugar to hard crack stage? I couldn't see a temperature in the recipe, and I don't trust myself to gauge it on eye alone

Buying some silicone baking mats now... I managed not to impulse buy both books, I'm going to leave them on my wishlist and see what happens (birthday is in August, so fingers crossed). I really need to have a clear out of my recipe books though, I have far too many and there are plenty I hardly use.

The sugar will be heated beyond the hard crack stage. Hard crack happens at about 310°F (155°C); caramelization begins about 320°F (160°C).

On one of his other posts, can’t remember which one, he stated you can easily caramelize sugar simply by watching the color, no thermometer needed.

I frequently caramelize sugar to make candy pecans for my mixed greens, apple, and feta salad. I never use a thermometer since it’s such a small amount of sugar. I have burnt the sugar a couple of times when using a dark non stick pan. But with a stainless steel pan it’s easy to judge when the sugar is caramelized enough.

And you will know when the sugar is burnt – – it is so bitter it’s inedible

I’ve made his soft chewy caramels, and they turn out perfect every time. It’s the only recipe that has ever worked for me. I use Lyle’s golden syrup instead of corn syrup— and I never tell anyone when I make a batch of caramels because I want them all to myself!

 

[Becky]

Ooh funny you mentioned candy pecans - I was thinking that's what I would do! Instead of having the shards of caramel and pecans on top, I thought I could combine the two then chop it up. Best of both worlds

Silicone mat should be arriving today...

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Let us know how they turn out!

 

[Becky]

They turned out great... eventually! It took me 3 attempts to get the sugar to hard crack went through my entire supply of white sugar!

The first time my thermometer was telling me that the temp was rising veeery slowly, so I opened the bag of pecans and spread them across the mat. I was watching the thermometer the whole time. Turned my back for a second and WHOOSH! It had burned.

Second attempt, I watched it like a hawk. However as soon as the temp got to soft crack it suddenly rocketed, and even though I took it off as soon as I realised the temp continued to rise and it burned.

Third attempt, I took it off the heat as soon as it was just below soft crack, and low and behold the temp continued to rise until it got to hard crack. Hurrah!

I'll make the blondies today

 

[Norcalbaker59]

They turned out great... eventually! It took me 3 attempts to get the sugar to hard crack went through my entire supply of white sugar!

The first time my thermometer was telling me that the temp was rising veeery slowly, so I opened the bag of pecans and spread them across the mat. I was watching the thermometer the whole time. Turned my back for a second and WHOOSH! It had burned.

Second attempt, I watched it like a hawk. However as soon as the temp got to soft crack it suddenly rocketed, and even though I took it off as soon as I realised the temp continued to rise and it burned.

Third attempt, I took it off the heat as soon as it was just below soft crack, and low and behold the temp continued to rise until it got to hard crack. Hurrah!

I'll make the blondies today

Lol—that is too funny! I totally get your frustration here. Cooking sugar straight up without water always vexes me for that very reason—it’s uncontrollable under heat.

Looking forward to hearing how the blondies turn out.

 

[Becky]

Glad it's not just me who struggles with sugar!

Looking forward to hearing how the blondies turn out.

They. Were. Awesome!

I compared the recipe you suggested with others I'd found, and went with yours because it had a lower proportion of flour to fat / sugar (and I like them less cakey, more fudgey). They are delicious! Lovely butterscotch flavour. I think we may all have diabetes now, but it was worth it

Only slight changes I made were 50% white choc and 50% milk choc, and used the chopped candied pecans on top instead of caramel shards. 30 mins was perfect for me too, so pretty much stuck to the recipe.

We had them warm with vanilla ice-cream and more chopped candied pecans on top. Delicious!

I'll upload some photos later, in a bit of a rush right now.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Glad to hear they turned out so well. I have to babysit my niece next week so I think I’ll make a batch to take over. She always asks for a baked treat.

 

[Becky]

Batter with choc chips:

The chopped candied pecans, yummmm

Before going into the oven (I saved some of the pecans to sprinkle on ice-cream)

Baked!

Best served warm with ice-cream

Chewy and delicious

 

[Becky]

Glad to hear they turned out so well. I have to babysit my niece next week so I think I’ll make a batch to take over. She always asks for a baked treat.

We really liked them, I've put the rest in the freezer now so that we're not tempted to eat them all quickly!

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Batter with choc chips:
View attachment 1640

The chopped candied pecans, yummmm
View attachment 1641

Before going into the oven (I saved some of the pecans to sprinkle on ice-cream)
View attachment 1642

Baked!
View attachment 1643

Best served warm with ice-cream
View attachment 1644

Chewy and delicious
View attachment 1645

Those look really good. They look nice and chewy. I’m gonna give this recipe a try when I watch my niece later this week. That looks like a keeper.

 

[Becky]

Those look really good. They look nice and chewy. I’m gonna give this recipe a try when I watch my niece later this week. That looks like a keeper.

Yup definitely a keeper. I remembered one small change I made - instead of adding all the salt to the batter, I added half and sprinkled the rest on the top (I used flakey salt). If anything I would add slightly more to the top next time.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Yup definitely a keeper. I remembered one small change I made - instead of adding all the salt to the batter, I added half and sprinkled the rest on the top (I used flakey salt). If anything I would add slightly more to the top next time.

I appreciate the tips. I’m definitely going to make a batch of these for my niece.

 

[Becky]

I made these blondies again at the weekend, and forgot about the melted butter! Thankfully I realised before putting it in the oven, but it wasn't ideal adding the fat at the end. It took a while to get it all mixed in, and the only difference I noticed was that once the blondies were baked there was a kind of thin, chewy caramel layer on the bottom in some places. It was actually rather nice, lol! Don't think I'll be intentionally doing that again though...

Clearly out of sight out of mind is a problem for me. I melted the butter in the microwave and forgot about it! Oh well, lesson learned

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Oh I’m glad they turned out even though the mixing was out of order.

I too have the tendency to forget things in the microwave, or eggs warming in a bowl of warm water in the sink. It’s gotten so bad that I now prep all the ingredients and line them up in order of use on the counter.

 

[Becky]

Oh I’m glad they turned out even though the mixing was out of order.

I too have the tendency to forget things in the microwave, or eggs warming in a bowl of warm water in the sink. It’s gotten so bad that I now prep all the ingredients and line them up in order of use on the counter.

That's a really good idea! I might have to steal it...

 

[Lee_C]

Becky, I don't know what Stella Parks blondies consists of, but if you happen to be still exploring recipes, I recently made some following Gemma Stafford's recipe. White choc chips and super super fudgy. Actually a bit too fudgy for me but very nice.

https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/best-ever-blondies/

I also made a caramel sauce. It's all very naughty.