Perfect Blondies

My ex-mother in law Elizabeth made wonderful blondies. Kind of cakey, with a lovely almost butterscotch flavour and topped with a lovely brown sugar fudge icing. I just realised this morning that I don't have that recipe on here. Time to rectify that methinks. Look for that soon! Its actually a recipe that I was given by my ex when we were teenagers dating. It is handwritten in his schoolboy writing and he mis-spelled the title . . . "Camel Squares," instead of Caramel Squares. A part of their charm.

Not quite a Blondie they are much more cake like. Every now and then I do feel the urge to indulge in them, or in a Blondie. I've made quite a few Blondies through the year and this is the recipe I finally settled on as being the perfect blondie.

So what is the perfect Blondie? I suppose that all depends on who you are asking. This is what it means to me. A perfect Blondie is like a brownie . . . fudgy and dense . . .

but not chocolaty like a brownie . . . it tastes like caramel or toffee . . . from the combination of brown sugar, and vanilla . . . and butter . . .

They can seem almost gooey when first out of the oven, but don't let that fool you . . . once they cool completely, they settle into the perfect slice . . . dense and chewy, almost like your favourite chocolate chip cookie . . .

You might be tempted to think they aren't cooked, but don't be fooled. That's the way they are supposed to be. Dense, chewy and with a complex flavour that is not overly sweet, but sweet all the same.

They shouldn't be greasy. IF they are, then you have used too much butter. I don't think it matters if you use salted or unsalted. I use salted and then only add a pinch of salt, or none to the batter.

They are also very adaptable to other flavours and additions. Today I added good semi sweet chocolate chips and chopped candied ginger, which made them almost taste like chocolate covered gingers which Todd really loves. Just don't be tempted to add too much of any one thing. Less is definitely more here, and do save a tablespoon or two of your add ins to sprinkle on the top before baking instead of stirring them into the batter.

Yield: 9Author: Marie Rayner