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Are you on team brownie or team blondie? I’m usually meh about chocolate, so I’m always rooting for team blondie. I love that you can really taste the butter, and the fact that you can mix in whatever your heart desires.
Recently, I had an urge to do some baking — but nothing too complicated since I wanted to start enjoying our spring weather. These blondies, loaded with strawberries and white chocolate, were just the ticket to satisfy my sweets craving. With strawberries popping up in California farmers markets, it also gave me an excuse to pick up an extra basket.
So why these blondies, rather than one with nuts or chocolate chips? First off, they’re just so darn pretty. Blondies are usually, well, blond or just brown. That never stops me from eating them, but adding strawberries gives these particular blondies a sunny pop of color and a sweet-tart jammy flavor, and a handful of chopped white chocolate melts into some mellow creaminess in a classic strawberries-and-cream kind of way.
The real gold star on these blondies goes to the butter, though, which gets browned before going into the batter. Taking a few extra minutes to brown the butter until nutty and fragrant isn’t just therapeutic and satisfying — it also gives the blondies a deeper, more complex flavor. Don’t forget to scrape every single drop out! Leave no browned butter behind.
These blondies are also easy to make, making them a great kid project. After I browned the butter, my 8-year-old daughter did the rest of the work. She slowly sliced strawberries with a small steak knife (better for small hands and they have teeth to cut through the berries), then measured all the ingredients before stirring everything together in a bowl. Since the strawberries are arranged on top of the batter once it goes into the pan, she spent a few quiet minutes doing that before we popped the whole thing in the oven. She set the timer and then wiped down the kitchen counter after I told her that those who cook must sometimes also clean (win-win for me!).
It was hard for us to wait until the blondies were cool before we dug in, but our patience was rewarded. I snagged a corner piece because I love the crustier bits, and we both enjoyed our spring blondies together, loving the bites filled with fresh strawberries. We packed up a few to share with friends on a weekend hike and everybody raved. The chunks of fruit do tend to make the blondies soften up quickly, so you have three options: Eat ’em up quick, share with others, or pop them back in a warm oven if you have leftovers to refresh them after a few days. My advice? Go with option two and brighten someone’s day.
At Kitchn, our editors develop and debut brand-new recipes on the site every single week. But at home, we also have our own tried-and-true dishes that we make over and over again — because quite simply? We love them. Kitchn Love Letters is a series that shares our favorite, over-and-over recipes.