Oh, Dough You Didn't!

I’m not sure where to even start with this cookie. Is it that I have a love hate relationship with coffee (I hate coffee, and love that about myself)? Or, is it that I feel like you could have a serious debate on whether blondies are actually cookies, much like are hot dogs really sandwiches? Or, is it that caramel is sometimes pronounced like carmel and you should just know that no one is ever talking about the place Carmel (unless you’re Clint Eastwood). Really, in the end, I guess what it is, is that I loved these damn things and it really surprised me!

I have to say that I really struggled with these blondies. I have made so many brownies and blondies in the past that this should not have been a problem, but I had to make these three times to get it respectable, with the first two batches coming out so poorly I trashed them IMMEDIATELY. The first batch had nicely cooked edges, but the middle looked like that swamp from the 80’s movie Never Ending Story where Artax the horse gets stuck in the Swamp of Sadness and drowns. Yeah, it was like that. The second batch was simliar, but slightly better, but the middle was still very goopy and unappealing. So, there I was making my 3rd batch of blondies many hours later on a Sunday wondering, do I have the baking equivalent of the sports yips?! I was so focused on following a recipe that I was not using ANY critical thinking skills. However, I finally righted the ship and got the 3rd batch to look and feel like blondies. Higgins was less than impressed.

RESULTS

While it wasn’t my best finished product ever, these were still pretty darn good. And despite my lack of affection for coffee, the three shots of espresso plus espresso grounds combined with the bittersweet chocolate and caramel was very good. These were a perfect balance between crackled top and moist middle, with those delicious crunchy edges you want in a blondie or brownie. This recipe called for a 1/4 cup of caramel, so that was a fun side task to make the caramel first to use in the blondies.

FOR NEXT TIME

There were a lot of learnings on this one, but here are a few key things I would do differently next time.

• These blondies are not that sweet, so I would consider using semisweet chocolate the next time to maybe give it a little more sweetness and that nostalgic flavor I used to get as a kid from the sugary chocolate chips that were more commonly used instead of the “fancy” chocolate bar.
• It is imperative that you get this batter evenly spread across the 13×9 inch pan. The batter is very thick and a little tricky to spread around, especially without moving your parchment paper sling that is used in this recipe. It helped (on my 3rd batch!) to place batter piles around the edge of the pan and then draw the batter into the center. This was partially the reason why my first batch went sideways…straight into the trash!
• As I mentioned, this recipe uses a parchment paper sling to help with removing the blondies from the pan. This was the first time I used a sling and I think I’m a fan, but it really helps to crease the parchment paper where it transitions from the flat bottom to the sides of the pan to ensure you get a proper bar shape. Additionally, if your parchment paper has any curl to it make sure you arrange it so the edges of your sling curl out and not in. I made this mistake on my 2nd batch and needless to say, I was momentarily a sailor for about 15 seconds!
• I used a very nice, heavy Le Creuset cast iron pot to brown the butter and combine all the sugars, vanilla, and such. I love browning butter this way, especially given the light-colored enamel on the inside of the pot that makes it very easy to brown butter accurately without burning. However, because the mixture needs to be at room temperature before whisking in the eggs, it takes FOREVER for the mixture to cool down. Again, my hyper focus on following the recipe let me down and in later batches I moved the mixture to a metal bowl to help speed this up.
• I highly recommend an instant read thermometer for browning butter (I use the Thermapen® ONE). Yes, I do have a candy thermometer, but I like how easy it is to read and use this product.