macadamia nuts

Brown Butter Blondies with Macadamia Nuts, Caramel, and Dark Chocolate

Alright alright, so I’ve been real well-behaved over the past month, sharing healthy recipes and all that jazz. But it’s time to get back to the good stuff. The sweet, buttery, chocolate-laden stuff.

And I’m not sure that there are words for these little squares of delight. At least, no words that will do them justice.

Every so often, I try to do a clean-out of my cupboard. I always seem to have half-bags of a variety of chocolate, nuts, and other baking mix-ins hanging around. I had leftover dark chocolate and caramel left over from making my salted caramel bark over the holidays. I was very tempted to make another batch of the bark, but the previous batch had been a little too hard to resist, even from the depths of my freezer. I tend to lack willpower around frozen chocolate, what can I say?

Therefore, I was on the hunt for a new recipe. When I came across Deb’s recipe for blondies and realized that I’d never made blondies before, it was a no-brainer. The base recipe is great, and provides lots of room for switching up the flavors and mix-ins.

Friends, I have not been this excited about a cookie in a while. But these little things are AMAZING. First of all, we’ve got brown butter, which just seems to make everything a little bit better. Then we add in some toasted macadamia nuts for a little buttery crunch, chunks of caramel for a little chew, and some dark chocolate, just because. Oh, and then we add a sprinkle of coarse sea salt on top, just because I’m obsessed with that sweet/salty combo. #cantstopwontstop

It’s true what they say, blondies have more fun! But don’t take my word for it!

Brown Butter Blondies with Macadamia Nuts, Caramel, and Dark Chocolate (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

These blondies are so adaptable to whatever mix-ins you’ve got on hand. Basically, you need one cup of mix-ins, so change it up and try out different combinations. Please note that I’ve also added the metric measurements for some of the ingredients. I have been using my kitchen scale more often in baking, simply because I find that it helps me to produce more consistent results. I recommend using a scale if you have one.

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter

1 cup (238 grams) dark brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp. vanilla

Pinch of sea salt

1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour

1/3 cup toasted macadamia nuts, chopped

1/3 cup caramel pieces (I used 8 Kraft caramels, chopped)

1/3 cup dark chocolate, chopped

Coarse sea salt, for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray an 8 x 8 pan with non-stick spray.

Toast your macadamia nuts – spread the nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake at 350°F for about 5 minutes. Check frequently to ensure they don’t burn.

Brown your butter! Combine brown butter and brown sugar and beat together. Add the egg and vanilla and mix well. Stir in the sea salt, flour, and mix-ins. Press the cookie dough into the pan. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt (I used about half a teaspoon). Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until the edges are just beginning to brown and the center is set. Do not overbake! Allow the blondies to cool in the pan, then slice into squares. Nosh!

And if you want to be downright gluttonous, do what I did, and add a little drizzle of salted caramel. This is living, friends!

Mix It Up | Browned Butter Macadamia Nut and Cinnamon Chip Banana Bread

Well friends, here we are, another Monday. The furthest day of the week from the beloved weekend. As such, Mondays seem to have a bit of a bad reputation. I mean, how many times have you heaved a big sigh on Sunday night and said/thought “Ugh, it’s Monday tomorrow”?

But Mondays aren’t all bad. For one thing, you’re probably more likely to be well-rested on a Monday, given that it follows the weekend and most people are able to sleep in and relax a bit more. On Mondays, you have the whole week ahead of you – it’s yours for the taking! So spruce it up a bit – make some plans with friends to enjoy a patio beverage, plan to try that yoga/crossfit/pilates class that you’ve been meaning to get to, kick back and relax with a glass of wine and a good book – and enjoy the day. You might also wish to make this little diddy of a banana bread.

First of all, browning butter has become a bit of a trend. And it’s popular for good reason – browning the butter adds depth to the flavor of the bread – it’s kind of nutty and definitely insanely delicious. Try it once and you’ll be hooked. Secondly, I’ve added macadamia nuts and cinnamon chips. As I mentioned before, I brought home a sweet little stash of macadamia nuts from Hawaii back in April. I took a bus tour of the Road to Hana during my trip and one of the stops was a little roadside food store that sold fresh coconuts (remember this?), pineapple, banana bread, and other treats. I bought a loaf of the macadamia nut banana bread, which inspired me to add some macadamia nuts to this recipe. Cinnamon chips are a fun addition and create little pockets of cinnamon goodness in each bite. Cinnamon chips are something that I haven’t been able to find here at home, but I brought home a couple of bags from the same trip. They seem to be easy to find in grocery stores in the United States (in the baking section right next to the chocolate chips). If you can’t find cinnamon chips where you are, add a little cinnamon flavor to the loaf with one teaspoon of the stuff.

A warm slice of this banana bread is certain to make your Monday better. That’s a guarantee. Make it, eat it, share it. Let’s start this week off right!

Browned Butter Macadamia Nut and Cinnamon Chip Banana Bread (inspired by Joy the Baker)

Makes one 9×5-inch loaf.

1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter, browned

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 cup buttermilk (or plain yogurt)

3 large ripe bananas, mashed

1/2 cup macadamia nuts, roughly chopped

1/2 cup cinnamon chips (or 1 tsp. cinnamon)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat a 9×5-inch loaf pan with non-stick spray.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Swirl the pan as the butter cooks. The butter will foam and crackle, and then it will start to brown and smell nutty (this takes about 5 minutes). Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Measure the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Whisk to combine. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, vanilla, buttermilk, and bananas. Add the cooled butter and mix well. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and gently mix together. Fold in the macadamia nuts and cinnamon chips.

Transfer the batter to the loaf pan and gently smooth out. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Allow to cool on a wire rack. Slice and enjoy!