SWEET, SALTY, SMOKY, STICKY!

This is a go-big-or-go-home kind of blondie. For me, it conjures up images of bonfires and fireworks at the fair where there’s sticky treats and smoke in the air.

There are a few things that turn this blondie up to eleven: the browning of the butter, the liquid smoke, and pretzel base. Without them, it’ll still be a great blondie so by all means – go ahead, but, with them…it’s all kinds of yum!

In retrospect, I should’ve added more marshmallows to the top as I ended up having to cut the blondies into fingers to get a marshmallow on each piece. So, when you’re arranging your marshmallows, think about how many pieces you want to cut it into after baking as a guide.

RECIPE: BONFIRE BLONDIES

MAKES: 20X30CM TRAY (ROUGHLY 16 SQUARES)

INGREDIENTS:

• 130g BUTTER, diced
• 200g BROWN SUGAR
• 40g GOLDEN SYRUP
• 75g WHITE CHOCOLATE, roughly chopped
• 2 EGGS
• 1 tsp. VANILLA PASTE
• 2 tsp. LIQUID SMOKE
• 185g PLAIN FLOUR
• ^_1/2 tsp. BAKING POWDER
• Pinch SALT
• 70g PEANUT BUTTER
• 25g CARAMEL CHIPS
• 30g LARGE MARSHMALLOWS, snipped in half across the middle (approx 5, but more is good!)
• PRETZEL CRISPS

METHOD:

1. Heat the BUTTER in a saucepan over a medium heat until golden brown. This will take about 5 minutes.
2. Add the BROWN SUGAR, GOLDEN SYRUP, WHITE CHOCOLATE, and PEANUT BUTTER. Stir until melted, then remove from the heat and leave it to cool for a couple of minutes,
3. Preheat the oven to 190c and line a 20cmx30cm tin with baking paper. Spoon the sugar-chocolate mixture into a mixing bowl and, with an electric whisk running, mix in the EGGS one at a time. Then add the VANILLA PASTE and LIQUID SMOKE.
4. Fold in the FLOUR, BAKING POWDER, and SALT until there are no white streaks remaining.
5. Fold in the CARAMEL CHIPS.
6. Arrange a layer of PRETZEL CRISPS across the bottom of the prepared tin. Then carefully pour the brownie mix on top and push into the edges, levelling the top. Press the MARSHMALLOWS into the top.
7. Bake for 25 minutes for a gooey centre. Leave to cool completely in the tin. Then, remove and cut into squares.