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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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