Brown Butter Blondies with Cherries, Chocolate, Cashews & Pecans
Blogger, baker and food stylist Yossy Arefi loves using browned butter to give her sweet treats a lovely toasty flavor. In this recipe, from her blog Apt. 2B Baking Co., the blondies are chock full of nuts, dried cherries and bits of chocolate for an especially decadent treat.
Ingredients
- 16 Tbs. (2 sticks) (8 oz./250 g) unsalted butter
- 3 cups (21 oz./655 g) firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 Tbs. vanilla extract
- 2 Tbs. bourbon (optional)
- 2 tsp. salt
- 2 cups (10 oz./315 g) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp. baking powder
- 1 cup (4 oz./125 g) coarsely chopped cashews
- 1 cup (4 oz./125 g) coarsely chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup (2 oz./60 g) dried tart cherries
- 2 cups (12 oz./375 g) chocolate chips or chopped semisweet chocolate
Directions
Preheat an oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a 9-by-13-inch (23-by-33-cm) baking pan with foil and grease well.
In a saucepan over medium heat, warm the butter, stirring constantly, until all of the milk solids turn golden and the butter has a nutty fragrance. Be careful not to let the butter burn. Remove from heat and stir in the brown sugar. Set aside and let cool slightly.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, bourbon and salt. Whisk in the cooled butter mixture, then fold in the flour and baking powder.
Making sure that the mixture is almost at room temperature (to prevent the chocolate from melting), stir in the nuts, cherries and chocolate chips. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until the top is shiny, set and slightly cracked around the edges, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely before cutting into 24 pieces. Makes 24 cookies.
Recipe by Yossy Arefi, creator of the blog Apt. 2B Baking Co.
