Butterscotch Blondies with Toasted Pecans
A dense, chewy bar built on melted butter and brown sugar instead of chocolate, cut small because the edges are the good part.
- Serves
- 16 bars
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Written
Method
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Heat the oven to 350°F and line a 9x13-inch pan with parchment, leaving an overhang on two sides.
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Toast the pecans on a baking sheet in the oven until fragrant, about 6 minutes, then set aside to cool.
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Whisk the melted butter and brown sugar together until glossy and no lumps of sugar remain.
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Whisk in the eggs, yolk, and vanilla until the batter thickens slightly and turns a shade lighter.
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Fold in the flour, baking powder, and salt just until no dry streaks remain, then fold in the toasted pecans.
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Spread the batter into the pan, scatter with flaky salt, and bake until the edges have pulled from the sides and a toothpick from the center comes out with a few moist crumbs, 26 to 30 minutes.
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Cool completely in the pan before lifting out by the parchment and cutting into squares.
Notes
The butterscotch flavor here comes entirely from browning the sugar against melted butter, not from butterscotch chips — and the melted butter (rather than creamed) is what keeps these dense and chewy instead of cakey. Pull the pan while the center still looks a little underset; it firms up as it cools, and a fully clean toothpick means you’ve gone past chewy into dry.
Swap the pecans for walnuts or a cup of chocolate chips without changing anything else. They keep well wrapped at room temperature for four days, and freeze cut into squares for longer.