Blondies are something of a ritual in our home, particularly on a languid afternoon.
The vanilla-accented wafts of a still-warm-from-the-oven batch is reason alone to spend the requisite 10 minutes stirring together the usual pantry staples, before popping the batter into bake for another 20 minutes or so. Just about half an hour later, the rewards start reaping in manifold right from the cosy scent permeating invitingly through the kitchen! Once cooled, there’s no greater accompaniment to a slice than a pot of hot coffee and an engrossing book.
If you’re still wondering what a blondie is, think of it as a blonde brownie. There’s not a fleck of cocoa powder in the batter; but what blondies lack in chocolatey-ness, they more than make up for with rich hints of vanilla. If you’ve ever tried my signature brown butter blondies or class gooey chocolate-chip blondies, you’ll know that they’re something of a game-changer.
This recipe shakes things up even further by swirling in Insta-friendly dollops of salted caramel into the batter right before baking. I’m yet to meet someone who’s not keen on salted caramel, but if you really prefer you could swap it for Dulce de leche, Nutella or even Biscoff spread instead! The secret ingredient is just about a teaspoon of cornflour which gives these blondies a soft and tender crumb.
Salted Caramel Blondies
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp cornflour
- ¾ cup + 2 tbsp brown sugar (you can use dark brown sugar, light brown sugar or a combination or both)
- 1 egg
- 1½ tsp vanilla extract (I use Sprig’s Natural Bourbon Vanilla Extract)
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp sea salt (if using salted butter than avoid adding extra salt)
- ¾ cup chocolate chips
- 2 – 4 tbsp salted caramel (adjust depending on preference; I use Sprig’s Classic Salted Caramel)*
Instructions
- Melt the butter, set aside to cool.
- Pre-heat your oven to 175°C ; and prepare an 8×8 inch baking pan, lining and greasing it with parchment paper. I like to place the parchment paper such that it is pressed against the sides of the pan, with some excess parchment hanging out over the edges. This ‘parchment sling’ makes it easier to remove the blondies later!
- Sift the flour into a bowl. Whisk in the baking powder, cornflour and sea salt and mix well. Set aside.
- Once cooled, beat the brown sugar and melted butter together until it is well mixed and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract, beating again well (use a hand mixer if you have one).
- Stir in the dry ingredients, gently folding them in until no visible streaks of flour remain. Gently fold in the chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter into your prepared tin and press down gently with a rubber spatula/ offset spatula. Dollop on salted caramel and swirl using a butter knife/ toothpick or offset spatula.
- Pop the blondies into bake for 18 – 22 minutes. Remove them from the oven when they look *almost done*. The edges will have browned, but the centre will look a tad underdone (with a slight wobble). Be careful not to over-bake in the oven, as if you do, your blondies will be less moist, instead becoming hard. No one wants over-baked blondies!
- Let the blondies completely cool down on a wire rack before slicing them generously and serving. Preferably with a hot cup of coffee to dunk in!
Notes
- If you prefer, you could always substitute Sprig’s Banoffee sauce or Dulce de Leche too!
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Substitute for egg