A blondie is a brownie without the chocolate. I was extremely skeptical that this recipe would turn out any good. I was very, very, pleasantly surprised.

Pecan Blondies
From Fine Cooking Magazine

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
• 1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk1 extra large egg plus 1 extra large egg yolk, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• Scant 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup pecans toasted and coarsely chopped
  

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, melt the butter and heat it and the brown sugar together, stirring frequently, until the sugar has dissolved.
• Cook, stirring, about 1 minute longer--the mixture will bubble but shouldn't boil.
• Set the pan aside to cool for about 10 minutes.
• Butter an 8-inch square pan, line the bottom with parchment, then butter the parchment.
• Stir the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla into the cooled sugar mixture.
• Add the flour, salt, and nuts, stirring until just blended.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
• Bake until the center is springy when touched (the top may still look doughy) and a toothpick comes out clean or with a few, moist crumbs, about 25 - 35 minutes.
• Set the pan on a rack to cool enough to handle.
• Run a paring knife around the inside edge of the pan and then invert onto a flat surface and peel off the parchment.
• Flip back onto the cooling rack to cool completely.
• Cut into squares with a sharp knife.

About this recipe: I began by toasting my pecans and setting them out to cool. Then, I melted the butter in a medium sauce pan, tossed in the sugar and stirred to cook as the directions indicate. It smells and looks a lot like the beginning stage of making toffee, but you don't let it cook as long. My sugar never really dissolved into the butter and it was more sandy, or gritty, by the time I took it off the stove. Didn't seem to hurt anything.

To aid in cooling, I set my pan out on the cold cement of my patio out in what was a very cold night while I saw to the next steps. I prepped a 9" square pan, lightly beat the eggs and vanilla together, measured out the flour, salt, and nuts into my favorite bowl in the kitchen (my batter bowl). By then, the butter sugar mixture had cooled enough and I stirred in the egg mixture followed by the flour/salt/nut mixture in about 3 additions. I stirred just until the flour was incorporated.

I spread the very brownie-like batter over the bottom of the pan and into the heated oven it went. I made these some time ago, but I'm pretty sure I only had to bake them for about 20 minutes and they were done.

I did as it suggests and cooled it until I could handle it and inverted the stuff out onto another baking sheet. Then, instead of just cooling to room temperature, I threw it in the freezer for about a half hour. I did this so that it would get nice and cold and make it easier to cut. My plan worked spectacularly and I cut the blondies into perfect bite-sized squares of about 1-inch by 1-inch using a sharp kitchen knife. Then I packed the little nuggets into the container shown above and brought them with me to work the next day.

The result: absolutely don't miss out on this recipe! Make it. Make it again. These blondies are delicious. Everyone at work seemed to love them as much as me. They have a buttery, caramel flavor that is so wonderful. The pecans added just the right crunchy element to the chewy texture of the blondie. For me, it was the ideal texture, not fudgy, not overly soft, and not dry or hard. The edges had a bit more chew to them which was very nice. I loved these blondies and will add this recipe to my best-of-the-best list.