Friends & Family Macadamia Brown Butter Blondies

“The key to a great blondie is baking it for the right amount of time,” writes Roxana Jullapat in the headnote to her recipe in Mother Grains, from which this is adapted. Uh, yeah, but it also helps to have a great recipe — and this one, made with half barley flour and half all-purpose flour, certainly fits that bill. Jullapat also writes that they have baked them every day since opening her Los Angeles bakery-restaurant, Friends & Family, in 2017. One bite, and you’ll see why.

The texture is amazing — and we love Jullapat’s idea of cutting the blondies in wedges, so that each has a “chewy, toasted exterior and a soft center.” No edge-pieces vs. interior pieces, as you have in bar-cut blondies.

Makes 12 blondie wedges.

Ingredients

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (2 1/4 sticks/250 g) unsalted butter

1/2 vanilla bean

3/4 cup barley flour

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 1/2 cups packed (285 g) dark brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup (65 g) whole macadamia nuts, unsalted dry-roasted (you can either leave them whole or chop them roughly depending on your preference)

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 350 with a rack in the middle position. Cut a 9-inch circle of parchment paper. Lightly oil a 9-inch cake pan or spray it with nonstick spray and line it with the parchment circle.

2. Put the butter in a medium pot. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise with a paring knife, use the back of the knife to scrape out the pulp, and put both pulp and pod into the pod. Cook over low heat until the butter starts to turn amber, about 8 minutes. Keep a watchful eye on your butter; it can go from blond to burned in a split second. When the butter is ready, pour it into a large heat-resistant bowl to stop the browning process. Use a rubber spatula to scrape all the flavorful milk solids at the bottom of the pot — much of the flavor of brown butter comes from these toasty bits. Carefully remove the vanilla bean with kitchen tongs and discard.

3. Sift the flours, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl. Set aside.

4. Add the brown sugar to the bowl of browned butter while the butter is still warm and stir to combine with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Add the eggs one by one, stirring after each addition. Add the flour mixture and the vanilla and stir just to combine. Finally, add the macadamia nuts and stir until they’re evening distributed throughout the batter. Transfer to the prepared pan and smooth the top with an offset spatula.

5. Bake for 20 minutes, until the edges are starting to brown but the center is still underdone. Then rotate the pan and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, until the top is a rich golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool completely, about 1 hour.

6. Invert the blondies onto a cutting board, peel off the parchment paper, and then flip so the crusty side is on top. Cut into 12 equal wedges. Stored in an airtight container, they will keep for up to 5 days.