Bourbon Blondies with Pecans & Chocolate Chunks
Can this be short and sweet? That’s what people want on a Saturday morning- am I right? (Unless Molly has a new post up – it’s a good morning when something from her pops into my RSS feed.)
So. I learned last week that bourbon blondies are my friend Gwendolyn‘s go-to recipe for ski trips and weekends with friends. That same day, chatting with my roomie about what we should buy/bake/pack for our weekend at the Food Bloggers of Canada conference (such a great event, if you have the opportunity to go next time, do!), Jan offered to bake a batch of drunk (bourbon) blondies – her go-to recipe for get-togethers, she said.
When two of my favourite food writing people have a go-to recipe, I need to try it. Right?
Gwendolyn’s, which call for 1/4 cup bourbon to an 8×8-inch pan of blondies, are decidedly boozy. Jan’s much less so, with just 2 Tbsp in a 9×13-inch pan; hers are subtle and buttery, delivering a gentle nudge rather than a kick. Both have their merits.
One is essentially a double batch of the other, with butterscotch chips in place of the chocolate. So what we have here is a sliding scale of bourbon – for an 8×8-inch pan you can add 1-4 Tbsp of bourbon, and all will work. Or double the recipe easily if you have more company to share them with.
Either way, I imagine a warm slab would make a delicious vehicle for a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Next time.
Bourbon Blondies with Pecans & Chocolate Chunks
AuthorJuliePreheat the oven to 350F and butter an 8×8-inch pan or line it with parchment paper with extra hanging over the sides - this makes for easy removal and slicing. (This was Gwendolyn's idea - I usually eschew this step, but I'm glad I took the extra minute. So easy.)
In a medium bowl, stir together the butter and sugar, then add the egg, bourbon and vanilla, stirring until smooth. Add the flour and salt and stir until almost combined; add the chocolate and pecans and stir just until blended. Spread into the pan.
Bake for 25 minutes, or until the edges start to pull away from the sides and the middle is set. Cool at least slightly before cutting into squares.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350F and butter an 8×8-inch pan or line it with parchment paper with extra hanging over the sides - this makes for easy removal and slicing. (This was Gwendolyn's idea - I usually eschew this step, but I'm glad I took the extra minute. So easy.)
In a medium bowl, stir together the butter and sugar, then add the egg, bourbon and vanilla, stirring until smooth. Add the flour and salt and stir until almost combined; add the chocolate and pecans and stir just until blended. Spread into the pan.
Bake for 25 minutes, or until the edges start to pull away from the sides and the middle is set. Cool at least slightly before cutting into squares.
I’ve been wanting to make these since Gwendolyn posted them at the beginning of the year!
It was so amazing to meet you at FBC, Julie! Can’t wait for strawberry season to make some more skillet strawberry jam!
Who needs to drink bourbon when you can eat it? Between the bourbon and the pecans these feel fantastically southern. I should have popped by your room!
What is it about overhead shots of blondies? They’re irresistible.
This just might cheer my very grumpy husband up. Thanks for the inspiration!
These blondies look amazing! I am sooooo tempted to go to the kitchen and whip these up right now! 🙂
aw, geez. you have me blushing, AND jonesing for a round of blondies (bourbon’d!). because, you know, even redheads need blondies 😉
These look amazing~ I love blondies! I think I need to make these.
Oh man! These look crazy good. Amy and I totally should have stopped by your room! Now I have a grand excuse to go buy bourbon, if one ever needs an excuse to buy bourbon 🙂
I just made these for a small get-together and. Um. These are incredible. I added a little sweetened coconut (for fridge-cleaning-out purposes); they came together in less than the time it took for my oven to preheat, and are just so, so awesome.
Elaine – I’m so happy to hear it!
Booze in blondies! I’m in!
I made these last night, just as the recipe was written (but with 4 tbsp of bourbon!). DELICIOUS! Bringing them to a BBQ tonight where I know they will receive rave reviews. Plan to keep this in my rotation. Thank you!