Pecan Blondies by Tom
This attempt at blondies was a recipe from our new cookbook "The Cookie That Changed My Life". I have made many brownie recipes over the course of my baking career, but never blondies. So I was actually looking forward to making these. Plus, we were off to Buffalo for the weekend. So having a homemade bake good to share was part of the plan.
Let me say right from the start that these blondies had a good taste, but I was not happy with how they turned out. Too dry and too salty. But both of these traits are easily fixed. Use less salt, and bake for a shorter period of time.
With that said I will detail the original recipe, but then highlight where I think big changes can and should be made.
---Tom
Pecan Blondies
(adapted from Nancy Silverton's cookie cookbook)
10-inch square pan (First note: this is an unusual size which we did not have. Instead I used a 9" x 13" rectangular metal pan)
Cooking spray
3 cups chopped pecans
3 extra large eggs
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract or bean paste
4 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
2 cups plus two tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup plus 1 heaping teaspoon muscovado sugar (or dark brown sugar, which is what I used)
1.5 teaspoons kosher salt (when making again, I would cut this in half)
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3.5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup milk chocolate chips
Prepare your baking pan by coating it with cooking spray. Then line it with parchment paper, and spray that with cooking spray as well.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. (I used our toaster oven for this step.) Spread 2 cups of the pecans on the tray and toast until they are toasted and fragrant. This will take between 16 - 20 minutes. Be sure to pay attention so that they do not burn. Remove from the oven and let cool.
Increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees. This is the temperature that you will actually bake the blondies.
Place the butter in a small saucepan to make brown butter. Heat over medium heat until the butter melts and begins to bubble. Swirl the pan frequently so that the butter does not burn. Do this for about 5 - 8 minutes until the butter is caramel colored and the solids are the color of coffee grounds. Weigh out or measure 1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons of the butter and transfer it to the bowl of a stand mixer. Let cool to room temperature. Save the remaining butter for another use not related to this recipe.
Mix the eggs and vanilla in a small bowl.
Next add the brown sugar, granulated sugar and muscovado sugar (or alternatively brown sugar) to the bowl with the brown butter. Set the bowl on the mixer and using the paddle, beat on medium speed until the butter and sugars lighten in both texture and color. About 1 minute. Add the salt, baking powder, and baking soda and mix in.
With the mixer still on medium speed, slowly add the egg/vanilla mixture. Mix until everything is fully incorporated.
Add the flour and mix on low speed until almost no flour is visible. Add the chopped toasted pecans, plus 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons of the chocolate chips. Mix on low speed for about 15 seconds to distribute these two additions.
Scrape the paddle and the mixing bowl to release any ingredients that may be stuck there.
Scrape the batter into the prepared baking pan and use the spatula to distribute the batter to the edges of the pan. Sprinkle the remaining pecans over the top (plus some additional chocolate chips)
The original recipe says to bake for 10 minutes then pull it out sprinkle some additional flaky sea salt over the top. Put back in the oven and bake for an additional 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes. Rotating the pan half way through the bake.
This is where I will diverge from the recipe and state that this bake time is far too long, and I do not believe you need the additional salt.. My blondies looked finished after about 45 minutes. But I kept them in for about an hour and they came out very dry and hard. Hence I do not believe you need to bake these that long. When the blondies are starting to pull away from the edge of the pan, they are done.
Remove from the oven and let cool. After cool to the touch, lift the parchment to remove the blondies to a cutting board where you can cut them into squares.
Even though my original attempt with this recipe did not turn out like I had planned. They still had very good taste. So I will try again using less salt and baking a shorter period of time.
---Tom
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