They're Blondies, Baby!

Nope...not a single speck of chocolate in these non-brownies. I wonder how the first ever Blondie came to be.

Was it a brunette who ran out of chocolate and decided to go with it anyway?

Or was a blonde who simply forgot to add the chocolate?

Whatever happened, however it happened, boy am I glad. As much as I love chocolate, these things are soooo darned good!

This batch that I recently made was a special request for a very pregnant co-worker. How could I not fulfill such a craving? And also, per her request, I am blogging about them so that she can make some more while she is on her maternity leave (effective immediately). I sure am gonna miss her while she's gone. Especially since I have the privilege of doing her job until she gets back (lord, help me!!).

Clare....this is for you and your baby! (btw, did you ever decide on a name?)

Oh ya....and where did I get this awesome recipe? From BakeSpace's very own version of Alton B., Culinary Alchemist. You gotta love it when you have a cooking bud with the mind of a scientist. He just knows what goes together and why and how.....and comes up with some amazing stuff. His version of Blondies has the optional addition of Heath Toffee Chips, which I have never added. I think it would take it over the top. But thats just my opinion. If you're an "over the top" kind of person...go for it.

What you'll need is:

3/4 cup unsalted butter (don't worry, I've used regular butter before and it's just fine)
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
1/2 cup dark brow sugar (if you don't have both kinds of brown sugar, just use what you have. (not white sugar though) I've done it and once again, it's just fine)
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat your oven to 350'

Get out a 13x9 casserole dish and line it with parchment paper. Yes, go out and purchase parchment paper (I'm talking to you Clare!!). It will make your life so much easier. Trust me.

In a sauce pan, melt your butter. Then add all of the brown sugar.

Stir it all together and keep stirring, over a medium heat, until everything is all melted and smooth. This will take a couple of minutes and it will start to resemble caramel

You might be tempted to dip your finger in there cuz it looks so good. But don't. It's really hot! (been there, done that).

Take the pan off the burner. If your counter is slippery, set the pan on a towel so it won't slide.

In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, the egg yolk, and vanilla

Now....I couldn't take a picture of this next step because if I paused in my stirring, my egg mixture would've tuned into scrambled eggs. No one wants scrambled eggs in their blondies. Right? What you're gonna do is, add a small amount of the eggs to the melted brown sugar (which is still hot!), while quickly whisking it in before it "cooks" thus keeping it from scrambling. Then add another small amount, while whisking and then adding more and whisking all the while, until all the egg mixture is whisked into the brown sugar.

Is your arm tired yet? Bummer cuz you have a little more stirring to go. Not much. We're almost done so don't worry.

Now combine your flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Stir the flour into your brown sugar mixture

Then you're going to stir in the pecans

Once it's all mixed together, pour it into your parchment paper lined dish

Spread it around as best you can so that it's all even

Bake for about 35-40 minutes. I tend to go more towards the 40 minute mark. Don't stress over it. It's not going to burn or anything. Oh, but if you're using a dark pan, you'll want to add an additional 5 minutes to the baking time. (don't ask me why, I'm not the scientist)

Once it's done, remove from the oven and set the pan on a cooling rack. Give it time to cool and set before you attempt to remove it or start cutting it into squares.

But look....when that's all done, it's soooo easy to remove it from the pan! Just life the edges of the parchment paper and it comes out....easy peasy

Peel the paper away and start slicing.

Now tell me you wouldn't want one of those! (or 2 or 5).

Clare....don't go crazy on these things. I don't want your dr. all pissed off at me! LOL