Guest Post
At work I often make really elaborate pastries and cakes. There are a million steps and a ton of dirty dishes. On my days off, however, I like simple recipes that don’t require too much effort. The fewer dishes I have to wash, the better. I developed these grown-up blondies featuring dark chocolate, pecans, and swirls of porter jelly because everyone needs a quick and easy go to recipe that doesn’t make a huge mess. Binge on Serve these slightly warm with a glass of cold porter or stout.
Porter Pecan Blondies
- 1 stick butter
- 1 c brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1c flour
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp soda
- 1/3 – 1/2 c coarsely chopped dark chocolate
- 1/3 c pecan pieces
- 1/4 c dark beer jelly
- Pinch coarse sea salt
Melt the butter. (If your mixing bowl is microwave safe you don’t even need to dirty a separate bowl)Stir in brown sugar and then the egg and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients, stir together. Stir in the chocolate and pecans.
Pour the batter into a greased 8×8 pan. Put jelly in a zip top sandwich bag. Squeeze and knead the jelly a little to break up the big lumps. Cut off one tip off the bag to make a very small hole in the corner. If the hole is too big jelly will come out in large, unsightly clumps. Drizzle jelly over the blondies. Using a thin knife or a toothpick, gently swirl the jelly through the batter. Do Not Overswirl. You should still see streaks and swirls of jelly. Add more pecans to the top and sprinkle with coarse salt.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until set in the center. Allow to rest 5 minutes. Slice into generous pieces and serve warm.
Susan has a degree in Baking and Pastry Arts from the Culinary Institute of America and her peers bestowed an honorary award for merit in wine and beer. She is an accomplished pastry chef in DC and someone I go to for baking advice. Susan is my twin and I am constantly telling her that she should move to Vermont.
Nancy Warner 