Maple-Walnut Blondies Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Are blondies meant to be gooey in the middle? ›

A good blondie should be chewy, gooey in the middle and firm around the edges. If you want to add an additional egg yolk to this recipe to make the blondies super gooey, you can! Just to clarify, that would be 1 whole egg plus 2 egg yolks. Try it if you like gooey blondies!

If your blondies are coming apart in your hands, it's likely for one of three reasons: You didn't aerate the eggs enough. The leading cause of raw, sunken blondies is not whipping enough air into the batter.

Check if the blondies are cooked by giving the tin a gentle shake, they should be mostly set but a little bit of a wobble in the centre is fine. Cool completely in the tin – the blondies will sink in the middle as they cool, just like brownies.

These blondies are meant to be a little gooey and soft. You can remove them from the oven just before they look like they're completely done because the residual heat of the oven and the pan will continue to cook them. Also, be sure your oven is actually at the temperature it says it is.

So if your blondies are very wet, then they're most likely undercooked. In the UK, eggs with the Red Lion seal of approval are safe to eat raw or undercooked. So you can slightly undercook blondies and brownies if you prefer a fudgier texture.

Self rising flour has baking powder and a bit of salt already added. So, if you make the substitution, you'll have extra salt and baking powder in the finished product. It may not be terrible, but it won't be good.

Tips. If your blondies are like cake when you take them out, it simply means they have been over baked – try less time or a lower temperature next time. If they are too soft, it just means they needed longer!

Over mixing the eggs: If you over mix the eggs, that can incorporate more air into the batter and cause them to sink.

Replacing a portion of the brown sugar with corn syrup ensures that the blondies stay chewy but aren't overly sweet. Buttery pecans and milk chocolate chips balance the blondies' flavor without obscuring it. Flaky salt on top makes for a crunchy flavor contrast.

It turns out that sunflowers (including the seeds) contain chlorophyll, which reacts with the baking powder/soda in a recipe, and turns the baked product green once cooled. In order to eliminate the green tint, you can add a splash of lemon juice to the wet ingredients, and reduce the leavening in the recipe by half.

Why are my blondies dry? ›

These blondie brownies are baked when a skewer inserted into the center where some brownie batter is comes out with a few moist sticky crumbs attached -- not wet batter, and NOT dry. If the skewer is dry then these brownies are over-baked and if the skewer has wet batter then they are still raw.

But if the recipe calls for the toothpick to come out “clean,” then there shouldn't be any crumbs adhering to the toothpick. It's OK if the toothpick looks a little moist or greasy. It's always worth checking a few minutes before the time range to avoid overbaking.

My ideal blondies are just a touch gooey in the center but cooked through. These experiments have continued to reaffirm my recommendation to BAKE IN METAL PANS, at least for blondies, brownies, and quick breads. Glass often leads to the center being undercooked by the time the edges start to dry out. ⁠

To Store: Keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days. I think blondies taste best the day they are made, but if you want to make them ahead of time I suggest freezing them.

The batter is very thick, so gently pressing the batter into the corners helps. 8Bake the blondies until the edges look dry and the middle looks shiny and slightly underbaked, 20 to 30 minutes. 9Cool to room temperature before removing from the pan — this step is essential and helps the blondies set.

Over mixing the eggs: If you over mix the eggs, that can incorporate more air into the batter and cause them to sink. Underbaking the bars: Pulling the blondies out of the oven before the center has had time to bake through can also cause them to sink in the middle. Try baking them for a couple extra minutes next time!

If the brownies still look wet or aren't pulling away, they aren't done. Even fudgy brownies will pull from the edges once they've finished baking. You'll see that the edges look dry while the middle still looks soft or slightly wet. Chewy and cakey brownies will have dry edges with firmer-looking centers.

Brownie doneness indicator #2: Appearance

The brownie's top should have a dry-looking sheen. At the edge of the pan, the brownies should be slightly puffed, and in the middle of the pan, the brownies should be set, and not wobbly.

If you insert a cake tester into the centre of the brownies pan it should come out with some damp crumbs attached. If the tester has raw batter on then bake for another 2-3 minutes and test again. Brownies go very quickly from being fudgy to cakey, so if in doubt start checking them slightly early.