Blondies with Browned Butter & Nutella

Someone get this jar of Nutella out of my house!  It's doing evil things to me.  I'm aware of that jar at all times when I'm home.  It seduces me, gives me compliments and lures me to it.  Then afterwards, I feel guilty and remorseful.  No, we're not talking about dating, we're talking about the most amazing chocolate hazelnut spread on earth.  A couple of weeks ago I bought my very first jar of Nutella.  The jar's empty now. 

Did you know that when paired with Milton's multi-grain crackers, Nutella tastes like an E.L. Fudge cookie?!?  I kid you not. 

So when I needed a desert/thank you for letting us stay overnight gift for this weekend, I turned to Nutella.  I also have wanted to make a blondie for a long time.  Traditionally, blondies are essentially the same recipe as their cousin the brownie, but blondies use butterscotch instead of chocolate.  So, how about we swap out butterscotch, and add Nutella?  Sound good?  Okay, done.


These blondies turned out amazing.  I decided to brown the butter first before putting adding into the rest of the ingredients.  Browned butter is also amazing, it transforms ordinary melted butter into a rich nutty, delicious butter.  This nutty flavor and aroma compliments the blondie base and the Nutella swirls.  Go get a jar of Nutella and make these!
  
Ingredients

Basic blondie recipe adapted from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything

1 cup all purpose flour
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup unsalted butter, browned
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 large egg, at room temperature
3 1/2 tbsp Nutella

It's been good to know you Nutella, but we need a break.  It's not you, it's me

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8 by 8 baking pan and set aside.  Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and kosher salt. Set aside.

Browned butter - for good instructions, go here.  In a large mixing bowl with a handheld mixer, mix together the packed light brown sugar, browned butter and vanilla extract.  Once combined, add in the egg and mix.  Slowly add in the dry ingredients until almost combined.  Take a spatula and fold the ingredients together.

Evenly spread the blondie batter into the baking pan. Measure out the Nutella. Drop the Nutella on top of the blondie batter. Drop the Nutella in three rows.  Swirl the Nutella up and down. Then back and forth.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

 Cool and then cut into squares. Enjoy!