Biscoff Blondies

My day job has me traveling quite a bit. I'm pretty much gone one week per month from April to November. Which is a lot, but they've sent me to some awesome places. I've been 2 hrs from the nearest paved road in Wyoming; I've been 4 hours from the nearest radio station in Nebraska; and I've spent a night in Chicken, Alaska. 

Yes, there really is a place called Chicken. 

And I've spent the night there.

Beautiful downtown Chicken. 

Actually, that's the entire town.

With all this traveling, I've become a bit of an expert flier. And I can tell you that hands down, Delta has the best in-flight snack.

That's why I always try to fly Delta. Not because I have so many frequent flier miles that I get free upgrades and free baggage. Not because they're often the best price from BWI. Not because they offer the most flight options to places west of the Mississippi. I pay $400 a ticket so that I can get a free $0.03 cookie.

Ever have one of these?

They are delicious! A wonderful cinnamon-y inflight treat that makes me overlook that they're showing Zookeeper and my iPhone is about to die.

Then, through the wonders of pinterest, I learned that they make Biscoff spread! And THEN I learned that they sell it in my regular grocery store! I did a little happy dance that day. It's like a cookie in a jar! I bought two jars and ate one for dinner.

I was able to not eat the second jar long enough to make something with it: Biscoff Blondies.

Talk about fantastic! I brought these to poker night last night and they were gone in a flash. Everyone loved them!

They retain a gooey, undercooked center even though they're fully cooked. The white chocolate balances perfectly with the cinnamon flavor and, all in all, they're not terribly unhealthy. Don't get me wrong, these aren't diet food, but with only 1/2 stick of butter, they have 150 calories and 8 grams of fat. Not too bad for such a decadent dessert.

Ingredients (adapted from Picky Palate)

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) margarine
1 1/2 cup white chocolate chips (divided into two 3/4 cup portions)
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup Biscoff spread

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover an 8x8 baking pan with foil and spray with non-stick spray. 
2. Melt margarine in microwave-safe bowl for 30-40 seconds. When done, add 3/4 cup white chocolate chips and let sit for a minute to melt chips. Stir chips and margarine until smooth. 
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt.
4. Add eggs, biscoff spread, and butter and white chocolate chip mixture. Mix throughly. Add 3/4 cup of white chocolate chips and mix to combine. 
5. Transfer to a baking dish and bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool completely and and cut into squares. Mine were about 1.5 inches square and it made 25 servings.

Toffee Blondies

I don't know much about about my husband's job. I know he's an accountant and that whenever I ask him what he does, he says it's too boring to explain. I know that he's good with numbers and that I don't have to do things like split checks or figure out whether my birthday will be on a Saturday (yea!) or a Tuesday (boo!) this year. I also know that during tax season (January to April), he works a LOT.

And I love and appreciate him for that.

So, to show that love and appreciation, I bake for him and his team on a regular basis.

Now I'm told that his team specifically requested my toffee blondies; however, seeing that they've never had them before, I'm a little suspicious that a random group of his co-workers would randomly suggest my boy's favorite dessert...

I guess it doesn't really matter who asked for what. In the end, he they got his their blondies.

They're warm, sweet, gooey, buttery, toffee-y blondies.

Now, before we go any further, the first thing you'll need to know about these (or any blondie or brownie for that matter), is that you can't really make these without the proper tools. I mean, sure an oven comes in handy, a mixer is a good bet, some would even say that a sifter is a no-brainer, and that's all well and good, but my friends, if you really want to make these addictive then you need the right pan.

A Brownie Edge Pan, if you will.

This goes on the list of things I could have and should have thought of. I bet whoever made this is raking in the millions. Next to the internet and yoga pants, this might be the greatest invention ever. Especially when it comes to making toffee blondies that were specifically requested by a group of exhausted accountants.

Once you have the pan that gives every piece a perfectly chewy edge, you may continue on with the recipe.




I got this awhile ago from Martha Stewart's cookie book and I've been making them from my written version, so I'm not sure how much they differ from the original, but here's how I make them.

Dairy-free disclaimer(s): First, the original recipe called for butter, so I used margarine.  Second, I used store-bought Heath Toffee Bits which list milk as an ingredient. This small amount won't affect the lactose-intolerant in my family, but to be truly dairy-free, you'll have to either buy vegan toffee or make your own. Making toffee is really easy though so don't worry.




Ingredients

1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) margarine softened
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 cups packed light-brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3 large eggs

2 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1.25 cup toffee bits

Directions 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease your new Brownie Edge Pan.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine margarine and both sugars; stir with a wooden spoon until combined. Attach bowl to mixer; add eggs. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. 
4. Add vanilla, and beat to combine. Add flour mixture and toffee bits. Mix until thoroughly combined, and pour into prepared pan.
5. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes (do not overbake). Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before turning out of pan onto a cutting board. I find with the brownie pan, it's easier to cut it right in the pan than trying to get it to all come out in one piece.

6.  Send husband into work to be a Toffee Blondie hero.