Chewy, Chunky Blondies

I much prefer blondies to regular brownies. It's likely because I'm just not that big of a chocolate person. I had a craving for blondies and went straight to Dorie Greenspan for my fix. It has been a while since I've made anything from her book, since I left TWD in late 2008 (wow, was it that long ago?). I figured I was due for some quality time with Dorie. 

I was feeling pretty confident that there were a few ingredients I could change without screwing up the final results, and I was right! The Earth Balance butter, sucanat, evaporated cane juice and whole wheat pastry flour all played their parts flawlessly. These are a wonderful treat that I could feel a little less guilty about... until adding a scoop of ice cream, that is!



Chewy, Chunky Blondies
Source: Slightly adapted from Dorie Greenspan, Baking: From My Home to Yours p.109

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 ounces) Earth Balance butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups sucanat
1/4 cup evaporated cane juice
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or 1 cup store-bought chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips or Heath Toffee Bits
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Prepare a 9×13-inch baking pan with baking spray and put it on a baking sheet.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add both sugars and beat for another 3 minutes, or until well incorporated. Add the eggs one by one, beating for 1 minute after each addition, then beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing just until they disappear into the batter. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the chips and nuts. Scrape the batter into the buttered pan and use the spatula to even the top as best you can.

Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the blondies comes out clean. The blondies should pull away from the sides of the pan a little and the top should be a nice honey brown. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for about 15 minutes before turning the blondies out onto another rack. Invert onto a rack and cool the blondies to room temperature right side up.

Cut into 32 bars, each roughly 2-1/4 x 1-1/2 inches.