Food Network Magazine - (11)November 2019

fun

cooking

MAPLE-WALNUT BLONDIES ACTIVE: 45 min l TOTAL: 1 hr (plus cooling) l SERVES: 12 to 16

FOR THE BLONDIES

Cooking spray

1 cup walnuts

2¾ cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1¼ cups packed light brown sugar

½ cup pure maple syrup (grade A;

dark or robust)

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon maple extract

FOR THE FROSTING

1½ sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted

butter, at room temperature

¼ teaspoon salt

⅓ cup pure maple syrup (grade A;

dark or robust)

1½ cups confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

¼ teaspoon maple extract,

plus more to taste

Blondies

1. Make the blondies: Preheat the oven to 350 ̊. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with foil,

leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides; coat the foil with cooking spray. Spread the walnuts

on a baking sheet and bake until lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool slightly, then

transfer to a cutting board and roughly chop; set aside.

2. Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Melt the butter in a medium

saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally with a whisk, until brown flecks

appear, 10 to 12 minutes; remove from the heat and immediately whisk in the brown sugar

and maple syrup. Let cool slightly, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the eggs one at a time, then

add the vanilla and maple extracts.

3. Whisk the brown butter–egg mixture into the flour mixture, then fold in the walnuts with

a rubber spatula. Spread the batter in the prepared pan. Bake until lightly browned and a

toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer to a rack

and let cool completely in the pan. Lift the blondies out of the pan using the foil overhang;

discard the foil.

4. Meanwhile, make the frosting: Beat the butter and salt in a large bowl with a mixer

on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the maple syrup and beat until

smooth. Gradually beat in the confectioners’ sugar on low speed, increasing the speed to

medium high after each addition until fluffy. Beat in the lemon juice and maple extract; add

more maple extract, ¼ teaspoon at a time, to taste. Spread the frosting over the cooled

blondies. Cut into squares.

Grade A

pure maple syrup

labeled dark or

robust will taste

best in these

desserts.

68 FOOD NETWORK MAGAZINE ●NOVEMBER 2019