Happy Monday. Starting the week with a sweet post seems like a good thing to do. My friend made these blondies the other day and I had to make them as well. They are packed with toasted chopped almonds, a little almond extract and then more whole almonds for a pretty design and extra crunch. If you like almonds, you will LOVE these blondies. I’m not sure where the recipe came from but I have written it out below.

I’m not a huge chocolate fan, so I will usually choose to eat a blondie over a brownie. This recipe is a little on the sweeter side with the amount of brown sugar, but the almonds really help to cut that sweetness. They add quite a nice toasty component. If you aren’t a huge lover of the flavour of almond extract, you could substitute vanilla extract. I am a big fan of it, so I used almond extract in my blondies.

These were super easy to prepare and only take about 15 minutes to bake, so it is a great mid-week dessert. I hope you make these blondies and love them as much as I did 🙂

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup chopped almonds
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp almond extract (or vanilla extract)
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 8-12 whole almonds, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray 8″ square or round pan with nonstick spray.
2. Lay chopped almonds on baking sheet and cook in oven for 3-4 minutes, until golden brown. They may make little popping sounds as they toast. Remove from oven and let cool on pan.
3. In medium bowl, whisk together butter, brown sugar, egg and almond extract. In separate, smaller bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
4. Add dry ingredients to wet bowl and stir together with wooden spoon or spatula. Gently fold in toasted almonds.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan, spreading it out into an even layer (it will be a little thick). Decorate top with whole almonds, if desired. Bake for 15 minutes, until golden brown on top. It will be a little soft but firms up as it cools.