Alex texted me yesterday afternoon requesting brownies or blondies for dessert. Since the Easter bunnies have been slowly disappearing there has been a lot of chocolate going on, so I decided to make blondies--with chocolate chips. I like to use whole grain flours in bars because they work well with their chewy yet tender nature and I like that bit of fiber to help slow down digestion and hopefully ease the sugar rush. While I generally lean toward oat flour for these I wanted to add a bit of quinoa flour to add slightly nutty dimension and I balanced this with a little all purpose so I'd get a little more texture in the cake. You can always make this with 100% oat or 100% AP if that's how you roll. The bars ended up with a little bonus layer of caramelized sugar at the bottom, reminiscent of Scotch tablet, that was quite delicious. These are made in one pot and the batter comes together quickly. We like our blondies a little thicker and cut them smaller (well I do, Alex is a bit more generous for himself. And for Amaya she gets mommy style.) These blondies have a fudgey, chewy texture, rich with brown sugar, and broken up by bites of caramel and chocolate chips. You could top them with whipped cream or ice cream (as Alex did) or really go whole hog and make them the base of a sundae with some chocolate caramel sauce to make this dessert a true indulgence. ( An idea Alex wish he had thought of.)
Whole Grain Chocolate Chip Blondies
Makes one 8-inch square pan
8 ounces / 225 grams unsalted butter, sliced
1/2 cups / 100 grams dark brown sugar
1/2 cup / 106 grams light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon / 3 grams fine sea salt
2 large cold eggs
1 teaspoon / 4 grams vanilla paste or extract
1/4 teaspoon / 1 gram almond extract
1 cup / 120 grams oat flour
1/2 cup / 56 grams quinoa flour
1/2 cup / 75 grams all purpose flour
1 cup / 175 grams bittersweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350°F. / 175°C.
Butter a one 8-inch square baking pan. You can use the waxed paper/foil that was around the butter you are using for the blondies to do this.
Melt the butter in a medium pot and set over medium low heat. One the butter is melted, remove from heat and add the dark brown sugar, light brown sugar, and salt. Stir until completely smooth. Let the mixture cool slightly and then add 1 large egg, stirring rapidly with a silicone spatula to incorporate it into the butter mixture before it starts to coagulate. Once that egg is completely absorbed, add the second egg and repeat. Once the mixture is smooth add the vanilla paste or extract and the almond extract and stir to blend. Add the oat flour, quinoa flour, and all purpose flour and stir vigorously to blend. Give it about 50 strokes, until the batter is smooth and silky and falls like a ribbon back into the pan when you lift the spatula. stir in the chocolate chips and pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the center is set. You can test this by gently pressing against it with your fingertip or with a cake tester. The tester should feel as though it is pushing through a set cake and come back out clean. Let cool completely before serving. These blondies will cut more easily and hold together better if they have time to set up.
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