Coffee Pretzel Blondies
These decadent blondies are sweet & salty, filled with flavours of coffee, cinnamon, chocolate, and pretzels for crunch.
Servings: 16 squares
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ¾ cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg
- 1 Tablespoon real vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons strong coffee or espresso
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup pretzels, broken into small pieces (½ - 1 inch)
- ⅔ cup (4 oz) semi-sweet or dark chocolate, chopped into chunks
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8x8 inch pan with a parchment paper sling. Alternatively, line with foil or grease generously with butter.
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. If you'd like to make these blondies a little EXTRA, make brown butter. If not, skip to the next step. To brown your butter, continue stirring and cooking the butter over medium heat. The butter will sizzle and foam. Stir and swirl the pan frequently until the butter turns golden brown and brown flecks are visible on the bottom of the pan, about 5-8 minutes. You should smell a nutty aroma. Remove from the heat immediately to prevent it from burning.
- Pour your melted (or browned) butter into a medium bowl and add the brown sugar. Whisk until combined, then add the coffee and whisk until well combined. Let the mixture cool slightly so that it is just lukewarm. This will prevent the egg from curdling when added in the next step.
- Add the egg, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon and whisk until combined. Add the flour and stir with a spatula. When only a little flour is still visible in the bowl, add the pretzels and chocolate, stirring and folding them into the batter.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan. The batter will be very thick and sticky, so do your best to smooth it evenly and to the edges of the pan using your spatula and a butter knife. Bake for 18-24 minutes or until edges are lightly brown. The centre should be soft but set. It should look under-baked but not completely doughy. Under-baking is crucial, they will firm up as they cool so err on the side of less time in the oven. Let them cool in the pan, or if using a parchment sling, pull them out after 10 minutes and let them continue cooling on a wire rack. Cut into 16 squares or triangles.
Notes
- Melting butter - If you don't brown your butter, melt it in the microwave and save yourself from washing another dish! For more tips on browning butter, visit Sally's Baking Addiction
- WAIT TO EAT until cooled slightly if you'd like to experience the crunch of the pretzels in them. They're still delicious hot, but are better once cooled.
- Freeze leftovers - these freeze well and are actually quite tasty eaten right from the freezer. So in summary, they are delicious at all temperatures!
- Substitute other add-ins like chopped toasted nuts, dried fruit, or other types of chocolate for the dark chocolate and pretzels. Pecans or walnuts are delicious in place of the pretzels.