Pomegranate white chocolate blondies
By Tali Simon | September 20, 2012
Anyone else have leftover pomegranates lying around? See if you can guess what I’m going to suggest you do with them.
Truth be told, part of me didn’t want to post this recipe at all. A pomegranate dessert two days after Rosh Hashanah seems about as relevant as a matzah lasagna recipe two days after Pesach.
Unless you have a leftover pomegranate.
Or unless you love all desserts that are crispy on the top and fantastically chewy on the inside, and downright stunning to boot.
The stunning part is hard to ignore. And! It’s natural beauty! I didn’t have to dye those pomegranate arils, promise.
If you’re the type to reduce sugar and butter in just about everything you meet (it takes one to know one), let me warn you in advance: Don’t do it here.
Changing the flour/sugar/butter ratio will also change the texture. It won’t be as chewy. It won’t have that fudge-like consistency that’s the hallmark of a truly great brownie or blondie. It might be tasty in other ways, but it won’t be a show-stopping blondie.
Which these totally are. Because aside from the crispy tops and the chewy middles and the pretty mix-ins, they use almond extract instead of the usual vanilla.
It’s worth picking up a little bottle of the stuff if you don’t have some at home already. It adds another layer to the flavor, conjuring up things like marzipan and powerful nutty aromas. Trust me. It’s veryveryvery good.
The other best part? You need exactly one bowl for this recipe. Okay, and one small saucepan to melt the butter. But seriously, we’re not talking a lot of dishes.
And how could I forget? Although they’re nice at room temperature and really, really good from the fridge, they’re at their absolute best from the freezer (though to get the chewiness factor, you should let them sit on the counter for 20 minutes first).
Which means (ding-ding-ding!) you can definitely make these for Succos.
One year ago: Maple oat raisin quick bread
Blondie base from Smitten Kitchen
Yield: 20-25 blondies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, melted
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup pomegranate arils, plus extra for the top
- ½ cup white chocolate chips, plus extra for the top
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 F/180 C. Grease a 9″ x 13″ baking dish and press a sheet of parchment paper inside. (The greasing helps the paper stick to the pan, making it easy to spread your batter, and the paper enables you to lift out the baked blondies for easier slicing.)
2. In a large bowl, beat melted butter with brown sugar until smooth with a hand mixer. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add extract and beat again.
3. Add salt and flour and stir by hand to fully incorporate. Mix in ½ cup each pomegranate arils and white chocolate chips (I like to add another spoonful of each, but this isn’t really necessary).
4. Scoop batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake 20-23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the top is golden brown. Cool completely before slicing. Store in an airtight container in the fridge (or my personal favorite, in the freezer — and then let them sit out for 20 minutes before serving to restore the chewiness).
2 Comments
Victoria (Itsy Bitsy Balebusta) on September 23, 2012 at 6:13 am.
This is the perfect recipe for all the leftover pomegranates after Rosh Hashanah! I absolutely love blondies, and this is such a creative way to incorporate them into the Chaggim! I also love the inclusion of almond extract! Thanks for the recipe!!
Sheindl on September 24, 2012 at 4:11 pm.
I made these this past Shabbos, they are sooo good! The crunchiness of the pomegranate seeds reminds me of rice krispies.