Hello everyone! What a lovely sunny Sunday afternoon to be sitting here writing this post, which funnily enough ties in with the theme of sunshine. Tonight’s recipe is one in which I had only discovered two nights ago whilst scrolling through copies amounts of recipes online. This one in particular comes from an issue of bon appetite magazine, and is truly scrumptious. I tell you now the result you get from the Blondie part is just unbelievable, the chew is just perfect. I wouldn’t mind chucking in a handful of chocolate chips and dusting of cocoa to turn them into brownies, the British counterpart.
The peanut and pretzel combination take there form in a soft almost soft set caramel, enriched with butter, cream and honey. The honey sort of adds a soft grainy texture to the caramel, which I just love. These are also best served at room temperature. As with the pretzel part, I could only find the stick like pretzels, not the wound up German kind that the recipe specifies, but we don’t all have time in this life to find exactly what we need, so just settle for whatever you can find, as long as they are salted. The peanuts required here must be unsalted.
INGREDIENTS:
Sorry folks I will have to give you the ingredients in cups and spoons measure.
For the Blondie:
1 1/2 cups plain flour.
2 tsp baking powder.
1 tsp table/kosher salt.
3/4 cup unsalted butter.
2 cups light brown sugar.
2 eggs.
1 tsp vanilla extract (optional).
For the peanut-pretzel caramel:
4 cups unsalted peanuts.
2 cups caster sugar.
1/4 cup runny honey.
1/4 cup unsalted butter.
1/2 cup double/heavy cream.
1 1/2 cups salted twisted or crumbled pretzels.
METHOD:
Preheat the oven to 180C / Gas Mark 4. Line a rectangular brownie pan with baking paper and leave a 1 inch overhang for easy removal later.
Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt In a medium bowl; set aside.
Stir the butter in a medium saucepan for 7-8 minutes until it turns a light golden nutty colour and the milk solids float on the surface. Transfer to a medium bowl.
Stir in the brown sugar, until you form a mixture that resembles wet sand. Add the eggs and optional vanilla; beat until fluffy and well combined. Beat in the dry ingredients and using a spatula spread the mix evenly in the tin. The mix will be very stiff.
Bake the Blondie for 20-25 minutes or until it is golden brown, edges are pulling away from the sides of the pan a few crumbs stick to the cake tester. You want these to be fudgy and gooey not as dry as a biscuit.
Transfer to a wire rack and leave the pan to cool completely. They will sink and will quite a bit, do not panic.
Preheat the oven to the above temperature again and line a baking sheet with baking paper and spread over the peanuts. Bake evenly by tossing every few minutes for about 5-7. When fragrant, set aside.
Stir the sugar and 1/2 cup of water in a large saucepan, over a medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat and boil without stirring, swirling is permitted. Boil until it is a deep amber colour, about 12-15 minutes. Add the honey and stir quickly to incorporate. Add the butter and stir for a minute until blended. Then add the cream and stir standing back as you don’t want a 100+ Celsius facial.
Stir in the peanuts and pretzels. Pour over the cooled Blondie and leave for 5 minutes to cool, before placing in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Run a knife round the sides of the pan to release. Cut in to bars and eat!
Enjoy,
Ryan! Comments are welcome 🙂
Eat Well...Feel Well 