How to Make Salted Peanut Blondies Without a Mixer

Blondie is a white chocolate version of a chocolate brownie. But it’s not as simple as swapping dark chocolate for white chocolate. The problem with white chocolate is that it’s crazy sweet and not very pleasant by itself. Some adjustments need to be made to change and balance the flavour and to create a delicious treat that you won’t be able to get enough of.

The white chocolate in this recipe is baked in the oven to give it some colour thus changing the flavour and removing some of the sweetness. The other method for adding a bit of a roasted flavour to this recipe has to do with the treatment of the butter. We will melt the butter in a small pan and let the milk solids brown once the water has evaporated.

Finally, some saltiness will be added by the salted peanuts and a good pinch of salt in the blondie batter too. All the above methods work together to create a unique blondie with a rich texture and moreish flavour.

I also decided to add some dried cranberries for a bit of tartness, but you can leave them out if you don’t fancy them.

I’m using my Lloyds Pans pizza pan for this recipe. It measures at 20cm x 25cm x 5.5cm (8in x 10in x 2.25in). My blondies turned out pretty thick. You can easily use a tray with a larger footprint without adjusting the recipe.

Watch the video down below for detailed instructions.

Ingredients

For the dough –

250g (8.8oz) white chocolate

250g (8.8oz) butter

10g (0.35oz) vanilla paste or essence

5g (0.17oz) salt

300g (10.6oz) light brown sugar

4 medium eggs (200g; 7oz)

150g (5.3oz) plain flour

50g (1.75oz) dried cranberries (optional)

150g (5.3oz) salted peanuts (slightly crushed)

Method

1. Bake the white chocolate on a non-stick paper lined baking tray at 140C (285F) fan on for around 20 minutes.
2. Brown the butter. Place the butter in a small pan and leave to melt on medium-high heat. Once it starts bubbling stir it and move it so that it does not sputter too much and make a mess.
3. Keep cooking for around 8 – 10 minutes. The milk solids in the butter will start browning when the water has evaporated. This will be indicated by many tiny bubbles forming on the top of the butter. As soon as it starts smelling toasty take it off the heat and pour it into a large bowl.
4. Add the vanilla paste and the salt to the butter and mix. Add the baked white chocolate to the butter and mix until dissolved.
5. In a separate bowl whisk the sugar and egg.
6. Combine the two mixes plus the cranberries and whisk until smooth.
7. Finally, whisk in the flour.
8. Pour the blondie batter in a baking tray and top with salted peanuts.
9. Bake at 170C (340F) for 35 minutes.
10. Leave to cool down at room temperature and then place it in the fridge to cool down until set. Cut into portions and serve either cold or at room temperature.