It took me until adulthood to discover the joy of blondies. I was always the “I choose chocolate” person in the room, so at any sort of bake sale or potluck gathering, it was brownies or bust. I don’t remember exactly when I started branching out, but I do know my blondie love was solidified when I worked in Boston, and would treat myself (and friends) to brownie and blondie assortments from the Yummy Mummy stand at the weekly Copley Square Farmers Market. Sort of a brownie/cookie hybrid, the best part about blondies is their underlying butterscotch flavor. Even better if that flavor is amplified with brown butter and dark brown sugar. Add some bourbon butterscotch sauce drizzled throughout, forming what David calls “little tunnels of goo,” and we’ve really got something here.

The base recipe for these blondies is the one I always use, so if you want something simpler, just make the blondies without the sauce, stir in whatever type of baking chip or nut you like, and have yourself a perfectly delicious little treat. However, if you do choose to make the butterscotch sauce, you will have a truly decadent snack. (Apologies in advance for the lack of butterscotch sauce progress photos-I had enough sauce on hand already before making these that I couldn’t justify making more. I will remedy this next time I make the sauce). Forming the divots in the blondie batter to house the sauce is a little tedious, but it’s worth it. (Tunnels of goo, remember?) If you try just pouring the butterscotch over the batter, it will turn the top to mush, which means you’ll never be able to tell when they are fully cooked, which will surely lead to OVERcooking them, giving you a dry blondie with most of the butterscotch bubbled away. If you try mixing the sauce into the batter before pouring it in the pan, the butterscotch swirls will be nearly unidentifiable after 25 minutes in the oven. Trust me on this-the divots will pay off.

The butterscotch sauce is pretty salty-if making it for an ice cream topping, I might cut it back to 1/2 tsp salt. Mixed with the blondies though, I like how it offsets the sweetness. Use any bourbon/scotch/whisky you like. (I don’t include this in the price-you have a bottle of something around your house, right?) Speaking of not including things, the total time here includes making the sauce and the blondies, but not waiting for the sauce the set up. Ideally you will make it the day before, but if not you can put it in the fridge to set up while you prepare the batter.

Bourbon Butterscotch Blondies

Recipe by Too Many SpoonsCourse: DessertCuisine: Bars

Servings

12-16

pieces

Cost

Total time

hour

You can use store bought butterscotch sauce if you like, but the one I make for these is a little thicker, and sneaks in a little extra bourbon flavor. Make it the night before if you can, and let it set up in the fridge.

Ingredients

Butterscotch sauce: 4 tbsp unsalted butter, 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, 3/4 tsp flaky salt, 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 tbsp bourbon
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp bourbon
1/2 cup white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour, pastry if you have it
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
Mix ins: 1/3 cup chopped pecans, 1/3 cup mini white chocolate chips

Directions

First, make the butterscotch sauce: In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low. Add the dark brown sugar, flaky salt, and heavy cream. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to keep at a steady simmer for about 5 minutes. You want a thick sauce (think slowly pourable), but keep in mind it will thicken a little more as it sets. Turn off the heat, but keep the pan on the burner, then stir in the vanilla and bourbon, letting it bubble for 1 more minute. Remove from heat and let cool completely.
Preheat the oven to 350, and line an 8×8 baking pan with parchment.
In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium low. Swirl occasionally, and continue cooking until you start to see brown bits on the bottom. This took me 8 minutes, but can sometimes take closer to 5, so just watch it carefully. Take off the heat, whisk in the brown sugar, and set aside to cool. (You can use the fridge to speed this along).
In a small bowl, whisk the flours, baking powder, and salt.
In a medium bowl, whisk the egg, vanilla, and bourbon until smooth.
When the sugar mixture is cool enough (no longer hot to the touch), slowly whisk it into the egg mixture.
Gently stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, in two additions. Then stir in the mix-ins.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and spread it evenly with a spatula. It will be thicker than a brownie batter, but not as thick as cookie dough. Now take a knife, pointed straight down, and use it to dig small holes all over the batter, wiggling the knife a little to expand the width. Carefully spoon the butterscotch sauce into the holes. It’s ok if a little spills over, but you don’t want to cover the entire surface. You might have to do this in stages, 1 row at a time, if your batter starts to close up too quickly. Maybe take the knife and run it lightly over the butterscotch puddles at the end, to make a little swirly pattern.
Bake for 25 minutes, until just cooked through. They should be pretty pale still, with a little crackle on the surface, and starting to pull away from the sides of the pan. These do take some time to set up, so try to let them cool nearly completely before cutting yourself square.