Our friend Robin gave these blondies their name at a BB-Q we had over the weekend. They are Pretzel Pecan Chocolate Chip Blondies, but that does not sound nearly as exciting.
I’m a sucker for anything salty and sweet; pretzels and chocolate are one of my faves. It is the same flavor combination as Beer’s BFF Cookies, but The Devil’s Blondies are easier to make. And, there is the secret ingredient:
Bourbon! MMmmm-Mmm. There is only a tablespoon of bourbon, so the flavor is not very strong, at all. It just gives a little hint of all that is good in the world… So good it’s bad.
The Devil’s Blondies
Adapted from Alice Medrich's Cookies and Brownies.
1 cup all purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1 large egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon bourbon
½ cup toasted walnuts, chopped
½ cup crushed pretzels (about 2 hand-fulls uncrushed) and 16 Royal Gold Classic Tiny Twist pretzels for the top
1 ¼ cups semi sweet chocolate chips, or about 8 oz. chopped semisweet chocolate
Preheat the oven to 350º, and grease and line an 8 inch square baking pan with parchment. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder. Whisk in the salt, and set it aside. In a large bowl, stir together the butter and brown sugar with a wooden spoon. Stir the egg, vanilla and bourbon into the sugar mixture until everything is smooth. Gently fold in the flour in two additions, and then fold in the chocolate, pretzels and pecans.
Spread batter evenly into your prepared pan, and arrange pretzels in a 4 x 4 grid on top, pressing them in just a little. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the top is golden brown, and the edges have slightly pulled away from the slides of the pan.
Serves 16. Will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, or longer in the fridge.
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