Almond Raspberry Blondies

Blondies are one of my favorite bar type cookies and these almond raspberry blondies are a fantastic variation. It takes 10 minutes to get them into the oven and in under an hour you have a delicious snack. Make a double batch because these will disappear quickly!

 

The Recipe

by volume                                              by weight

2 cups all purpose flour                240 grams flour

1 teaspoon baking powder         4 grams baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt                             2 grams salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda          3 grams baking soda

1¾ cups butter                                396 grams butter

2 large eggs                                      136 grams eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla                      12 grams vanilla

1 cup sliced almonds                   110 grams sliced almonds

1/2 cup raspberry jam                 165 grams raspberry jam

 

Directions

Heat the oven to 350F. Butter an 8″x 8″ pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.  Melt the butter and mix with the brown sugar until the sugar is incorporated.

Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until smooth.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda together to thoroughly combine and then stir in to the wet ingredients.

Spread half the batter in the pan and make as smooth as possible.

Next, spread the jam over the batter and sprinkle with half of the nuts.

Finally, spread the remaining batter over the jam and nut layer and then top with the remaining nuts. (This can be a little tricky because the jam and nuts want to slide around.  Place several spoonfuls of the batter on the nuts and jam rather than putting all the remaining batter in one spot. This will require less spreading and less movement of the layer beneath.)

Press the nuts into the batter gently with your hand. Bake for 45 minutes. Although you will want to eat these right away, they are much easier to slice once they have cooled — and they taste better too!

 

Alternatives

Almond raspberry blondies are delicious but there are many other great flavor combinations. Experiment with apricot and almond or strawberry and walnut.  Or skip the nuts and add coconut. You could even substitute ganache for the jam and pair it with toasted, chopped hazelnuts!