White Chocolate Cashew Blondies

I knew I was going to fall hard for this recipe as soon as I stumbled upon it.
White chocolate? Definitely interested.
Cashews? Keep talking.
Coffee in the batter? Um hmm.
White chocolate frosting, generously slathered over top (my own twist on the recipe)? Preheat the oven and let’s get these blondies baking.

(Interested in reading about my latest mistake for amusement? Always willing to share my recipes for disaster at my own expense. Click here to read about how I unintentionally made White Chocolate Cashew BLANDies. And the real reason I decided to add the frosting on top.)

Adapted from a Chicago Sun Times recipe…

BLONDIES:

1 tablespoon instant coffee

1 tablespoon water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup white chocolate chips

1 cup cashews (unsalted, roasted) (optional, or can be swapped with pecans or walnuts)

FROSTING (Optional):

1 cup white chocolate (or 5 oz. if chopped from a block)

2 cups confectioners’ sugar

1/4 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 tablespoons butter (at room temperature)
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease an 8″ baking pan (or a 9″ pan if you prefer thinner blondies).
2. In a medium bowl, combine the water, instant coffee and vanilla. Stir until the coffee granules dissolve.
3. Add butter, brown sugar and salt, then beat until light and fluffy (ideally with a stand or hand mixer). Add the eggs one at a time, beating and scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions.
4. Stir in the flour, then the white chocolate chips and cashews until combined. Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.
5. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean. (Bake for 30 – 35 minutes if using a 9″ pan.) Cool completely on wire rack before frosting (if you choose to frost).
6. OPTIONAL FROSTING: Melt the white chocolate in microwave for 1 minute, stirring halfway to prevent scorching. Stir until smooth, and let cool to room temperature.
7. In a medium bowl, stir confectioners’ sugar with the milk and vanilla. Add butter and beat until smooth. Stir in the cooled white chocolate, then frost the blondies. Chill before cutting into bars. (Add more icing sugar if you want a stiffer frosting, or stick in fridge for a bit to chill and stiffen for easier spreading.)
Tips:
- Coffee- optional, but why ever skip coffee? If you don’t have instant coffee, use instant espresso. If you don’t have that either (which I’m really wondering about, because how are you making my World’s Greatest Fudge Brownies without espresso powder?!), use a tablespoon of coffee liqueur or flavoring. If you don’t have that either, you could brew the world’s strongest coffee and use a tablespoon of it- but I doubt you’ll even notice the taste.
- Toasted cashews are great. Put them on a baking sheet and brown just ever so slightly for 8 minutes in your hot oven. Just make sure to cool before adding to your batter, or the heat from the hot nuts will melt the butter in the batter, and then you’ll have to stick your pan in the freezer to firm it up before baking it or the recipe will be a total bust. I speak from experience.
- Frosting- optional but really quite incredible. It’s a softer icing, a bit flowier than some others, so add more sugar if you want it on the firm side. Conversely- you could add less sugar and pour it like a glaze over individually cut blondies if you want to try something different… like pretty little coated white chocolate blondie packages- maybe with a cashew placed on top before the glaze sets? This recipe makes a lot of frosting, so by all means- freeze any that you happen to have left in a ziploc bag and use on pretty much any dessert in the future. Or eat on its own.
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September 19th, 2012 | More Sweets Please | No Comments | Tags: Bars, Nuts