Honey Sesame Blondies

You might be fooled into thinking that the ‘Blondie’ is just a poor man’s brownie - but this is far from the truth.

Unlike fudgy, chocolate brownies, the humble blondie calls for brown sugar in its recipe (instead of cocoa and chocolate), which gives them their classic rich butterscotch flavour.

The famous fudge brownie often overshadows it's blonde relative; but I was surprised to learn that they actually predate chocolate brownies - making them the older and, quite clearly much more sophisticated dessert!

Blondies are traditionally baked as tray bakes (like brownies). They don’t always call for chocolate, but are often made with chocolate chips - you could almost describe them as a tray bake version of a chocolate chip cookie (and what’s not to love about that description?).

This recipe is my take on the blondie - which slightly diverts from the more traditional methods.

I made these in a 12-hole cake tin, with loose bottoms - but these will work just as well in a regular muffin or even a brownie tin. 

I have also included double white chocolate - melted and combined with the batter and with an extra sprinkling of white chocolate chips for good measure.

The honey works so well with the white chocolate and the sesame seeds add an extra flavour of ‘nutiness’ - enhanced by the beurre noisette (brown butter). 

What you need (makes 12):

For the blondies:
150g white chocolate (melted)
125g unsalted ‘brown’ butter (melted)
150g light brown sugar
2 medium eggs
2tbsp clear honey
150g plain flour
50 white chocolate chips
60g sesame seeds

For the topping:
2tbsp clear honey
2tbsp sesame seeds

What you need to do:

For the blondies:

1. Preheat your oven to 180°c and grease a 12 hole baking tin with butter
2. Melt the white chocolate over a bain-marie and set aside
3. Place the butter over a medium heat and stir until melted and golden brown, then set to one side
4. Combine the eggs and sugar in a bowl and mix until light a fluffy (around 5 minutes)
5. While mixing, slowly add the butter then add the white chocolate along with the honey
6. In a separate bowl, combine the plain flour and sesame seeds and slowly fold this into the wet mixture
7. Lightly dust the chocolate chips in flour, then fold these and mix until fully combined
8. Spoon the batter evenly into each hole and bake for between 15-20 minutes

For the topping:

1. Remove the blondies from the oven and, while still warm and in the tin, brush with the honey and sprinkle with the sesame seeds
2. Eat and enjoy!