Dirty Blondies

You might be thinking, blondies? Eh. But wait! I know that blondies have a bad rep –  they tend to be overly sweet and either dry and cakey or wayy under-baked and almost too intense to eat. (AND, they’re competing against brownies which isn’t really fair.)

But I promise you, these Dirty Blondies are a whole different ball game. They’re rich, they’re moist, they’re packed with two kinds of chocolate and toasted hazelnuts and they’ve got a nice sprinkle of crunchy sea salt on top.  In my humble, completely biased opinion, they are absolute heaven. Where to begin!?

I guess we should start with the name. The name ‘Dirty Blondies’ refers to the espresso powder in the batter. It’s also a nod to the state of my hair color (shoutout to my fellow blondes!) in the age of Coronavirus. The hint of bitterness the coffee adds to these blondies tempers their sweetness and gives them a little grown-up edge. If you don’t have espresso powder, you can use finely ground coffee, just make sure to measure carefully as ground coffee will be stronger than the espresso powder.

My second trick is using a borderline absurd number of eggs in the batter. The recipe calls for 2 large eggs and 2 egg yolks, which makes the blondies incredibly rich, tender and moist, but not dense or ‘gluey’ the way some blondies can be. You can use the leftover egg whites to make a meringue (LOL!)  or you could, as I do, scramble them, add a little Parmesan, and have yourself a snack.

The third trick to these blondies is the addition of both milk and semisweet chocolate. Again, it’s that combination of sweet and bittersweet ingredients that’s key. Milk chocolate is a lot softer than semisweet, too, so by using both, you end up with both creamy chocolate bits and firmer chunks of chocolate in the blondies.

Now, the final and possibly most important tip I can give you about making blondies – whether you are using this recipe or another:  don’t over-bake them! Just don’t do it! The blondies should seem a little bit under-baked when you take them out of the oven. Like cookies, they will firm up as they cool. Over-baked blondies will end up dry and cakey, so always air on the side of under-baked, and use an over thermometer to make sure your oven temp is accurate.

Now, I know it’s not easy to find ingredients at the moment, and we’re all trying to avoid unnecessary trips to the grocery store. (Please don’t go out just for espresso powder or hazelnuts!) This recipe works well with a number of substitutions, and on its own, is an excellent base recipe for whatever “mix-ins” you feel like adding.

I love the combination of both milk and semisweet chocolates, but if you only have one or other, just use double the amount of that chocolate. And if you don’t have chunks or bars of chocolate, good old chocolate chips will do the trick. Same goes for the hazelnuts- feel free to sub in almonds or walnuts or omit the nuts entirely if you prefer.

And whatever you do, stay safe and healthy – and enjoy these Dirty Blondies!