Chocolate Chunk Nut Blondies

By MaryEllen

These alternative to dark chocolate brownies feature a brown sugar batter, chocolate and nuts.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 1 1/4 1/4 cups (182 g) gluten-free all-purpose flour
• 1/2 Heaping 1/2 teaspoon baking powder (use gluten-free if following a gluten-free diet)
• 1/4 Heaping 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 1/2 113 cup (1 stick; 113 g) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 1 1 cup (213 g) firmly packed light brown sugar
• 2 2 2 teaspoons vanilla essence
• 1 1 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1/4 1/4 1/4 cup (25 g) pecan halves, lightly toasted and chopped
• 1/4 1/4 1/4 cup (25 g) walnut halves, lightly toasted and chopped

Preparation

Step 1

Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Line an 8-inch (23 cm) square pan with aluminum foil or parchment, then coat with nonstick spray.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a small bowl to aerate and combine; set aside.
Melt butter over medium heat in a medium saucepan or in a large microwave safe bowl. If you use a saucepan, pour melted butter into a large mixing bowl or if you used the microwave you can proceed using the same bowl. Cool slightly until warm. Whisk in the brown sugar and vanilla until combined, then whisk in the egg. Fold in the flour mixture until a few floury streaks remain, then fold in chocolate chunks and nuts just until combined. Scrape into prepared pan and smooth top with a small offset spatula.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center shows a few moist crumbs clinging when removed. The bars should be light golden brown, slightly puffed, and the edges will have just begun to come away from the sides of the pan. Cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes, pull up on foil or parchment to remove bars from pan, then cool bars on rack completely. Peel away foil or parchment and cut into a 5 by 5 grid (25 bars). Store at room temperature for up to 3 days in an airtight container in single layers separated by aluminum foil parchment paper. Individually wrapping the bars will keep them as fresh as they can be. Bars can also be individually wrapped and frozen for up to a month, which makes them very easy to grab on the go. They defrost very quickly.

Tips

You can substitute 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (192 g) of chocolate morsels or chips for the chunks; the result won’t be as elegant but will be more convenient. If you go this route I recommend Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips.