Whiskey Toffee Blondies

It’s a fact: Baby has a sweet tooth. Or at least makes me have one! I recently made a big batch of cookies for guests and ate half of them myself. I made a banana bread to use up some old fruit, but that didn’t last long. I’m not usually one to have dessert every night, but these days I find myself in the grocery store, carefully selecting multiple options for the sweet treat I’ll enjoy after dinner…or after lunch.

Friday was snowy and chilly, just perfect for baking. We have some leftover Christmas toffee in the house, which is delicious- buttery, nutty, sweet, and a little bit salty. I thought I’d incorporate it into some kind of cookie, but in the spirit of trying something new, I opted to make blondies. A blondie is like a brownie but not chocolatey; it’s more like a cookie bar. And there’s nothing wrong with a cookie bar filled with toffee!

The process is the same as it would be for making a batch of brownies, really. I combined the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt. I blended together the wet ingredients: butter at room temperature, vanilla, an egg, and brown sugar. (Does anyone else’s hand mixer come from 1979 and include duct tape?) For added scrumptiousness and a deeper sweetness, I added a few splashes of whiskey. Also: BUMP ALERT.

I combined the wet and dry ingredients together. Now for the toffee! I selected a giant shard of locally-made toffee from the box. One side was coated in almonds and the other side had a thin layer of semi-sweet chocolate. I chopped it into chunks and made sure to get every crumb into the batter bowl and folded it together.

I sprayed an 8×8 Pyrex baking dish with cooking spray and lined it with a couple of pieces of parchment paper (which I also sprayed). No sticking to the pan, please! I scooped the thick batter into the pan and spread it evenly. Before popping it into the oven, I sprinkled more toffee on top. Why not?

My impatient sweet tooth may or may not have led me to remove the blondes from the oven before they were truly finished baking. I let them cool on the counter for a while before lifting them out of the pan and slicing big pieces: definitely a tad undercooked. But, like any good, gooey, might-be-a-little-raw brownie, it didn’t really matter.

If a brownie and a cookie had a baby, it would be these blondies. They were a beautiful caramel color with bits of melted toffee tucked into each bite. The texture was just like a warm brownie but the flavor was completely different: rich and sweet like a brown sugar cookie with a touch of saltiness. There were hints of chocolate from the toffee and the crunch of almonds here and there. Talk about a sweet treat- these whiskey toffee blondies are fabulous! Though you might want to keep them all to yourself, they’d be perfect to set out for a gathering (like, say, the Superbowl!).

I had one right out of the oven and another before bed, warmed with vanilla ice cream on top. Dreamy…but I know they won’t last long. I’m already thinking ahead to what I’ll make next to satisfy this preggo sweet tooth of mine!

Whiskey Toffee Blondies

You’ll need:

• 1 ¼ cup flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 1 stick of butter, room temperature
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ¼ cup whiskey
• ½ cup chopped toffee chunks

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare an 8×8 glass baking dish with cooking spray and parchment paper.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a medium bowl, blend together the butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla with a hand mixer. Add the whiskey. In batches, add the dry ingredients and blend well to combine. Stir in the toffee chunks by hand.

Scoop the batter into the prepared dish and spread evenly with your spoon. Sprinkle additional toffee bits on top and bake for 22-25 minutes or until the center is set. Allow to cool before lifting the blondies out of the pan to cut into pieces. Eat at any time of day, especially if Baby tells you to. YUM.

Hungry for more? Find a collection of treats on the Food Bliss: Sweet Stuff page!

One year ago: Fried Chicken Buttermilk Biscuits