Blondies. Are they nothing more than brownies missing their chocolate?
I suspect that simplistic notion comes from the brownie loyalists: a faction that believes brownies belong in a category by themselves. For them, a good brownie is no more than chocolate sullied with a bit of flour, sugar, and egg to keep it together.
It is pointless to try and sway the chocoholics of the world into considering much beyond hard core chocolate; they are quite happy with their lot.
But for those of us who appreciate full-flavored blondies and the possibilities they suggest, there are plenty of options, like coconut-chai, peanut butter, raspberry swirl, or pumpkin blondie.
Or, how about a banana blondie? There is the prerequisite flour and eggs, but it also includes browned butter, brown and granulated sugars, plus it’s moistened further with a couple of ripe bananas and laced with a touch of nutmeg―then it is all finished with a buttermilk glaze and candied-spiced pecans.
Perhaps not addictive, but certainly delicious: tropical undertones, caramel complexity, nuanced and nutty, reminiscent of buttermilk doughnut… more than a non-brownie.
Banana Blondies with Buttermilk Glaze
Ingredients
2 1/4 cups flour
3/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
10 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 large ripe bananas, cut up
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
Buttermilk Glaze
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup buttermilk
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp corn syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup candied pecans or walnuts (4 oz) lightly chopped
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line and spray 9×13″ pan. Position rack in lower 1/3 of oven.
- Combine and whisk dry ingredients and set aside.
- Melt the butter until it is bubbly and slightly nutty; in mixer, combine butter and sugars. Beat in banana until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, scrape down bowl and add vanilla.
- With spatula, stir in flour mixture; do not beat. Spoon into pan, spread gently.
- Bake for about 30 minutes, until top is light brown and tester comes out clean. Pour the Glaze over hot blondies. Yield: 18 approx.
Glaze: In a small pan, bring all to a boil except vanilla; reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Pour evenly over hot blondies. Sprinkle candied nuts over the moist glaze.
Allow to cool completely before cutting. Store covered at room temp for 3 days, or freeze up to 3 months without nuts.
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