Better Blondies

How was your President's Day Weekend? I took advantage of a rainy day and a little extra free time and channeled my inner pastry chef. Armed with my copy of BraveTart, a bag of Hoosier Hill Farm Malted Milk Powder and some good quality white chocolate, I decided to attempt to bake Stella's take on the classic Blondie -- White Chocolate Butterscotch Blondies. Ohhh yeah!

Have you ever baked with malted milk powder? My curiosity got the best of me especially after reading Parks describe the flavor of these blondies as "reminiscent of a butterscotch milkshake crossed with a malt ball". Traditional chocolate brownie recipes use cocoa powder. Parks incorporates the malted milk powder in her buttery blondie recipe. She explains that she prefers the powder in some recipes to barley malt (a thick syrup made from fermented grain) because of its ease of use and its rich but mild flavor.

I don't think my house ever smelled so good! It started with melting butter on the stove top hissing and popping - slowly turning into brown butter. I added the white chocolate and watched as the butter and chocolate combined into thin liquid gold. The faint butterscotch aroma was a hint of things to come. I whipped the malted milk powder with the sugars (light brown and white), salt, eggs and vanilla. Once it was thick and fluffy, in went the warm chocolate butter. The last addition was all purpose flour. If you make this recipe, which I highly recommend, be sure to have a large spoon on hand. I guarantee you've never tasted better batter in your life.

The finished result was impressive. The crispy crust and chewy inside of these bars is addicting. But before you eat them all, take a tip from Stella...chop any leftover blondies into bite-sized pieces and freeze. When you need a mix-in for your ice cream, you'll be beyond happy. Doesn't get any better. Even my little blondie got a taste. Meet Boomer below :)

If you don't have a copy of this cookbook, you should! It's in our current crate. Order your Stella Parks CrateChef today.