I’ve got nothing against brownies, in fact, when they are good, I have trouble keeping myself to just one. But there is something about these blondies that keeps me coming back again and again and choosing them over their more popular chocolate cousins when I decide to make a bar cookie. Their texture is a little bit cookie and little bit cakey. They taste richly of vanilla and the raspberries add a nice tart counterpoint to the sweet as well as marble the top beautifully with purpley-pink swirls. And they are just a bit more unique than a brownie. Everyone has had a brownie; not everyone has had a raspberry blondie.
And better yet, while they look impressive, they are very, very easy to make. You don’t even have to wait for butter to soften, as is so often the case with cookies, you just give it a quick microwave to melt it a bit and go forth with the batter.
Raspberry Blondies
Ingredients
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 c. butter, melted in microwave
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 c. fresh or thawed frozen raspberries
Preheat oven to 350.
Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together in a small bowl. In another bowl, whisk melted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar to blend. Add eggs, vanilla, and lemon juice and whisk until all are incorporated. Stir in flour mixture until batter is relatively smooth. Spoon into a greased 9×13 cake pan. I use an organic vegetable shortening for this task.
Bake for 40 minutes, then remove from oven and sprinkle raspberries over the top.
Return to oven and bake another 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let cool in pan on a wire rack about 15 minutes before cutting them into squares or triangles. And then sink your teeth into the dense, chewy, crispy at the edges, vanilla and raspberry goodness.
