londies,
or you might know them as Butterscotch or Blond Brownies, are a dense and chewy
bar cookie that tastes of butterscotch. Blondies are said to be related to the
Brownie, although they do not look or taste
like one. It is a little confusing as Blondies are not made with dark chocolate
so the only real connection to
the Brownie comes from the way they are made and that they both use some of the
same ingredients. If you think about it, the
batter is more like a chocolate chip cookie batter; full of butter and brown
sugar, with the added touch of toasted pecans and white chocolate chips.
The pecans and white chocolate complement the Blondies'
butterscotch flavor, although you may prefer to use butterscotch chips or even
milk or dark chocolate chips in the place of the white chocolate chips. The
reason I like to use white chocolate chips is because they are rich and creamy
with a sweet yet subtle flavor. Officially White Chocolate cannot be called
"chocolate" because it does not contain chocolate liquor. Good white chocolate
contains cocoa butter, sugar, milk solids,
vanilla, and lecithin.
So make sure
when buying white chocolate that it contains cocoa butter as some inferior
brands use vegetable fat.
This recipe comes from Richard
Sax's wonderful book "Classic Home Desserts". It is not often that you find a
baking book that does such a good job of covering the whole gamut of baking,
from 'Cobblers and Crisps' to 'Dessert Sauces'. Two delightful features of this
book are the quotes from old cookbooks that are scattered throughout and the
"Historical Sources" list at the back of the book.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177
degrees C) and place the rack in the center of the oven. Butter, or spray with a non
stick vegetable spray, an 8 x 8 inch (20 x 20 cm) square baking pan.
Place the pecans on a baking
sheet and bake for 8 - 10 minutes or until brown and fragrant. Remove from oven,
let cool, then chop coarsely.
Meanwhile, in a
small saucepan, melt the butter. Remove from heat and let cool to room
temperature.
In a bowl, whisk
together the flour, salt, and baking soda.
In the bowl of
your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the egg and brown sugar until
light and frothy (2-3 minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract and then the melted
butter. Scrape down the sides of the bowl then, on low speed, beat in the flour
mixture until incorporated. Fold in the chopped pecans and chopped white
chocolate.
Pour the
batter into
the prepared pan, smooth the top, and bake for about 25 - 30 minutes, or until
the top of the brownies are dry, golden brown, and a toothpick inserted in the
center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Remove from oven
and place on a wire rack. Cool completely before cutting into squares.
Store, covered,
for two to three days. Can freeze for longer storage.
Makes about 16
brownies.
Sources:
Sax, Richard. 'Classic
Home Desserts'. Houghton Mifflin Company. New York: 1994.
Blondies:
3/4 cup
(75 grams) pecan halves, toasted and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup
(113 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (125
grams) all-purpose flour
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". It is not often that you find a
baking book that does such a good job of covering the whole gamut of baking,
from 'Cobblers and Crisps' to 'Dessert Sauces'. Two delightful features of this
book are the quotes from old cookbooks that are scattered throughout and the
"Historical Sources" list at the back of the book.
