lemon-blueberry blondies

September 4, 2013

Even though I’m a 24-year-old, fully employed, college graduate living on my own in The Big City, I rarely think of myself as an adult. Sure, I have health insurance,  a 401K, and a disgustingly large rent bill, but  I can’t fold a fitted sheet to save my life. What’s more, I frequently dispatch emails in ALL CAPS, and  eat fro-yo for dinner more often than I’d really care to admit.

See? Not an adult.

Another trait that I feel brands me as  a perma-child is my inability to neatly slice and remove brownies, blondies, and the like from a pan. I’m pretty much physically incapable of serving anyone an aesthetically pleasing bar. This may have something to do with the fact that I tend to like my brownies ever so slightly undercooked (CHILD!!) but it’s a bit disheartening as a food blogger to actually cook something all the way through and try to serve it up in an aesthetically pleasing manner only to wind up with a plate full of mushy squares.

Not cute.

All this is to say, these blondies are delicious. And I’m sure that someone who is not me could manage to get them out of a pan with style and grace.

Sigh. Or you could just eat them straight from the pan. Not that I did that.

(I totally did.)

Lemon-Blueberry Blondies

adapted from Cookies and Cups, yields 20-25 blondies

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs (I used flax eggs, 2 tablespoons flaxmeal + 6 tablespoons warm water)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup chopped almonds
• 10 oz jar lemon curd
• blueberry jam

Preheat oven to 325° F, line a 9×9 inch pan with foil and grease well.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar with a electric hand mixer until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in eggs and vanilla, then add the dry ingredients (reserving nuts). Mix until combined and fold in the almonds and pecans.

Spread half the dough along the bottom on the prepared pan. Use a tablespoon to dollop lemon curd evenly over top. Cover with remaining dough and top with several tablespoons of jam. Use a knife to swirl the dough, lemon curd, and jam together.

Bake for 30-35 minutes until the dough sets. Edges should be golden brown. Be sure not to over-bake. Cut into squares and serve.

Written by L Posted in recipes Tagged with bars, blondie, blueberry, gluten-free, lemon, sweet, vegetarian