Dark Blondies With Linden Honey
So I think we all know how awesome brownies are. They’re a firm favourite in many households, especially when you get that recipe just right! You know the one - gooey in the centre with a crisp top.
But have any of you met their non-identical twin, the blondie? Well today is the day I’m going to introduce you!
Please note this post is sponsored and contains ingredients I was kindly gifted. However please know I will only ever use products in my recipes that I know you’ll love and are the highest quality with an amazing business team behind them.
What’s the difference between a blondie and a brownie then? Mainly it’s the chocolate used - brownies traditionally use cocoa and dark or milk chocolate solids whereas blondies favour white chocolate. This means they’re a lot sweeter I find with less of the bitterness you can sometimes get from dark chocolate.
To really make these seasonal I used dark soft brown sugar and a good dose of runny honey so the taste is akin to treacle or toffee. Perfect autumnal flavours! You can substitute this for any sugar though, or a combination of light and dark if you prefer your blondies slightly lighter in colour.
I’m absolutely loving Honey Tradition’s range of honeys at the moment - they’re super delicious and a family run business. This honey was their Linden Honey which is of medium sweetness and made from the flower nectar and pollen of linden flowers. And the best thing about this honey is its antibacterial qualities - we’re battling the school bugs daily in this house so any help is always much appreciated! Find Honey Tradition’s Linden Honey here.
Many bakes require the butter used in the recipe to be softened or at room temperature so it can be incorporated easily with sugar using the creaming method (where the sugar and butter is whisked together as the first part of the recipe). What I love about these blondies is that the butter and chocolate are melted together over a very low heat first which is perfect for me as guaranteed I will have forgotten to get the butter out of the fridge the night before! The sugar and eggs are added later.
I’ve found baking brownies and blondies requires a little bit of oven watching to get the texture just right so stay close by when they’re in the oven. Low and slow is best to get that perfect consistency. Sticking a skewer into the centre won’t work for checking whether these beauties are baked as we want the centre to stay gooey. After around 45 minutes I’ll remove them from the oven and give them a gentle wiggle in the tin - if they have a lot of wobble left and the middle looks raw I’ll pop them in for another 10 minutes then test again. I’m also looking for the edges coming away from the sides each time as this is another good indicator. Trust me the more you bake these the easier it’ll get to judge their readiness.
Once they’re cool make sure you allow the tin to cool for 10 minutes then lift the baking paper out and place it on a cooling rack. Slice into small squares after an hour or so if you like them warm or wait a few hours to allow to cool completely - they’ll be easier to cut this way and you can always warm them in the microwave before indulging if you like.
Drizzle with a little extra honey and a sprinkling of icing sugar to serve - (warmed blondies are delicious with a little ice cream by the way!)
Honey Blondies
Author Ella Nurse | Date 26/09/2019
prep time: 10 minutes
cook time: 1 hour 10 minutes
total time: 1 hour 20 minites
Servings: 12
Ingredients:
225g butter
200g white chocolate, broken into chunks
3 tbsp honey
300g soft dark brown sugar
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
175g plain flour
Instructions:
Grease and line an eight inch brownie tin and preheat the oven to 160 degrees C fan assisted
Slowly melt the butter, white chocolate and honey in a saucepan over a low heat, stirring continuously. Set aside to cool
Beat together the eggs and sugar in a separate bowl. Add the vanilla extract
Pour the melted honey, butter and chocolate over the eggs and sugar and stir to mix
Add the plain flour and fold together until fully combined
Pour the batter into the prepared brownie tin and bake for 1 hour 10 minutes or until the sides have come away from the tin and there is only a small wobble on the mixture
