Espresso Chocolate Chip Pecan Blondies + Video
Guess who's back, back again, blondies are back, don't tell your friends, because you won't want to share these espresso chocolate chip toasted pecan blondies with them. (Gosh that was so bad.)
But here's what I'm sharing. A video tutorial for these gooey espresso blondies. Aside from the recipe itself, obviously. So here's the video, right below:
Or, watch it on YouTube.
Do you want to know why you won't be sharing these espresso chocolate chip pecan blondies with anyone? Because these blondies are soft and gooey. “Fudgy” would also be an appropriate word to describe these bars, but we can't use that word, because that word is reserved for brownies only.
You also won't want to share these espresso blondies with anyone because they're rich and dense. There is no cakiness (not a real word) or fluffiness (a real word) or lightness (another real word) involved here. So if that's what you're looking for, exit this page and proceed to a recipe like the honey cakes I posted a few weeks back. Those are light and fluffy.
Are you starting to see why you'll want to keep the whole pan of blondies for yourself?
Now, the add-ins: we've got chocolate chunks and toasted pecans.
The chocolate doesn't come in chunks. You're gonna want to take a good-quality bar of bittersweet chocolate and chop it up yourself. Into uneven pieces. So that once in the oven, the chunks melt into hot pools of bliss. You don't get hot pools of bliss with regular chocolate chips, now do you?
And the pecans don't come toasted. You're gonna want to take raw pecans, chop them up into uneven pieces, and toast them in the oven until golden brown and emitting a toasted, nutty aroma. So that you get an extra depth of flavor and nuttiness that the pecans produce only once they're hot and toasted.
And now, as for the espresso. These blondies have a delicious, rich coffee flavor thanks to a tablespoon full of espresso powder that's mixed into the dough. Not something you get every day, an espresso blondie, aye?
And did I mention how easy these chocolate chip pecan blondies are to make? Melt the butter, stir in the espresso powder and sugar and egg and (generous) vanilla, stir in the flour and salt, stir in the chocolate chunks and toasted pecans, and spread the dough into your baking pan.
That's how easy.
There's only one type of sugar used in these blondies: brown sugar. Dark brown sugar. Because dark brown sugar has a deeper, richer, more caramel-like flavor than white or light brown sugar do.
And this extra caramely (not a real word) flavor from the dark brown sugar complements the espresso flavor and toasted pecan flavor and chocolate chunk flavor and vanilla flavor wonderfully.
So, to summarize. Making these blondies will yield bars that are soft and gooey and rich and dense and chocolate chunk-full and toasted pecan-full and coffee flavor-full.
Which begs the question: why haven't you made these espresso chocolate chip pecan blondies yet?
Espresso Chocolate Chip Pecan Blondies
Yield: about 20 blondies
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted
3 teaspoons espresso powder (2 teaspoons if it's very strong)
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups packed flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup chocolate chunks/chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line an 8x8" square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving some excess hanging over the rim for easy removal later.
2. Spread pecans onto a baking sheet and toast in oven until golden brown, about 9 minutes.
3. Melt the butter and add to a large bowl. Stir espresso powder into butter. Stir in brown sugar until combined. Whisk in egg and vanilla extract until smooth.
4. Pour flour and salt over wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips and toasted pecans last.
5. Spread dough into prepared pan evenly. Bake for 22-26 minutes, until edges are golden but center is still gooey. Let blondies cool in pan before lifting them out by the excess parchment paper and slicing into bars of desired size.
