At her L.A. bakery Friends and Family, Roxana Jullapat bakes these blondies in a round cake pan, which ensures that each slice has a chewy, toasted edge and a soft center. “This caramel-flavored treat demonstrates the powerful pairing of brown butter and barley,” Roxana writes in her cookbook Mother Grains (out April 2021). Barley flour gives baked goods a silky, chewy texture, dense crumb, and butterscotch-y flavor. Want to experiment? Make these with 3⁄4 cup (80 g) einkorn flour in place of the barley flour for an even chewier blondie.
Recipe information
Yield
Makes 12
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly coat a 9"-diameter cake pan with nonstick spray and line bottom with a parchment paper round. If using raw macadamia nuts, toast on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing once, until golden, 8–10 minutes. Let cool, then coarsely chop.
Step 2
Scrape vanilla seeds into a small saucepan; add pod and butter. Set over medium-low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until butter foams, then browns, 6–8 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl, scraping in all of the browned bits. Using tongs, remove and discard vanilla pod.
Step 3
Whisk all-purpose and barley flours, baking powder, and salt in another medium bowl. Add brown sugar to brown butter and stir to combine. Add eggs one at a time, stirring well after each addition. Stir in dry ingredients, then vanilla extract and nuts. Scrape batter into prepared pan; smooth top.
Step 4
Bake blondies, rotating halfway through, until top is golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 40–45 minutes. Let cool.
Step 5
Turn out blondies, remove parchment, and cut into 12 wedges. Serve each with a scoop of ice cream if desired.
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