salted peanut blondies

We in the SideSwipe kitchen have a (small) obsession for super-crunchy peanuts we buy from Costco. And we looove salty-sweet snacks. So when we saw this recipe in Valerie Gordon's book Sweet, we had to give it a try (with a few tweaks, as per usual).

The unusual ingredients create a symphony of textures and flavors that makes these little blondies really sing. Salty and sweet! Soft and crunchy! In some of the photos, you'll see we added a drizzle of melted chocolate. Double chocolate and a final sprinkle of salt really dresses up these bars for a party.

We like this as a small (half) batch bake, and we include baking directions below in our notes section. Enjoy!

Ingredients & Equipment

• 2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 12 Tablespoons (1-1/2 sticks, 6 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups (12 ounces) light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste (can sub with extract)
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 3/4 cup (4.13 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup (3.5 ounces) high quality, extra-crunchy Virginia peanuts**
• 1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel (add more if you want extra salty)

Optional Chocolate Drizzle

• ​1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips for melting and drizzling

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Coat 9 x 13 inch pan's bottom and sides with cooking spray. You can also use a sprayed parchment sling.
3. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
4. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with SideSwipe or a flat paddle, cream the butter and brown sugar on medium to medium-high speed until light and fluffy. This takes a while, several minutes with SideSwipe and longer with a standard beater. 
5. Add the vanilla bean paste and mix on medium until incorporated.
6. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition until blended.
7. Add the dry ingredients, one half at a time, and mix on low speed until just barely incorporated. You may see some little white streaks. That is fine.
8.  Add the chocolate chips and mix on low until distributed throughout the dough.
   
9. Spread the batter into the prepared baking pan. The dough will be sticky, so it is best to use your fingertips to distribute into corners and making it level.
10. Sprinkle the chopped peanuts over the top, patting gently. Sprinkle the fleur de sel over the top as well.
11. Bake for 45-55 minutes, until the edges appear crisp, the top is lightly golden, and a toothpick comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Watch when you get close to the time. We overbaked ours. It went from underdone to VERY golden in about a minute. :) Let the blondies cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before cutting with a sharp knife.
    
12. Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days. You can freeze a partial or full sheet of blondies, double-wrapped in plastic, for up to 2 months.

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Notes

• SMALL BATCH: We made a half batch in an 8 x 8 inch pan. Baking time should be 21-23 minutes. We went 23 in our well-calibrated oven and it was just a bit too much.
• These blondies are a little thinner than many recipes. The photos show the 1-inch height.
• Please find some high quality extra-crunchy peanuts for this recipe. We used Virginia peanuts, which look a little blistered, but are fabulous! We find them in a big metal tub at our local Costco.