Spelt Blondies with Cherries, Sunflower Seeds, and Coconut

And a sincere thank you.

What a week. I launched this newsletter not really sure what would happen. It was a leap into the unknown and a chance to take a long overdue creative risk. Thank you so much for joining me here. I hope you feel inspired by what you see and read.

Today’s post is a little bit of history followed by a recipe that I first baked after moving into my apartment here in Brooklyn. The batter is super simple to mix up and there are endless toppings you could choose to add. Make these blondies your own!

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A quick note on recipe formating - I choose to work in ingredient weights (grams) rather than volume as often as I can for a few reasons:

• Baking by weight is more accurate, especially for dry ingredients such as flour.

• Baking by weight is how I learned in professional kitchens and for recipe development, it is much easier to increase/decrease ingredients by percentages for small adjustments.

• Baking by weight creates less dishes to wash. (hallelujah)

That being said, I still use volume for ingredients less than a tablespoon and i try to include volume for things like nuts/fruits/herbs to make shopping a bit easier. If you ever have questions about recipe formatting or an ingredient measurement, don’t hesitate to reach out!

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What exactly is a blondie?

I recently learned that the blondie predates the brownie by about ten years, a fact that stopped me in my tracks. I had always thought that what made blondies what they are was what they are not - brownies. Fannie Farmer published the first recipe for a “brownie” in 1896 in The Boston Cooking School Cookbook but her recipe didn’t include any chocolate. What it did have was molasses, and a pretty heavy dose of it too.

Fannie’s recipe was essentially a blondie until the 1906 edition of the book’s “brownie” recipe included two melted squares of baker’s chocolate and no molasses. This update forever linked the term brownie with chocolate and was the first publication of a recipe for the confection we know and love.

I used a little bit of molasses in my recipe as a nod to Fannie but also as a way of adding depth to the blondie’s usually overt sweetness. It’s the same reason I call for a portion of spelt or whole wheat flour which both possess nutty notes that play nicely with the richness of molasses and brown sugar.

Fannie’s recipe included chopped walnuts but i decided my own spin would include sunflower seeds, cherries, and large coconut flakes for additional toasted nuttiness, pops of sour sweetness, and crunch.

Some other combinations that I think would be great atop a blondie:

• Chopped peanuts and dollops of grape jam

• Walnut halves and a heavy sprinkling of poppy seeds

• Sliced dried dates and crunchy raw millet

• Crumbled pistachios and thinly sliced dried apricots

It’s your blondie canvas, go wild!

Recipe

Spelt Blondies with Cherries, Sunflower Seeds, and Coconut

125g light brown sugar

28g molasses

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

170g unsalted butter

2 large eggs

90g all purpose flour

45g spelt flour or whole wheat flour

60g (1/2 cup) untoasted sunflower seeds

40g (1/2 cup) large coconut flakes

70g (1/2 cup) frozen or fresh pitted cherries, halved

1. With a rack in the middle position, preheat your oven to 350F. Line an 8x8 inch pan with parchment paper that covers the entire bottom surface with overhang on at least two sides. This will be used to lift out the finished blondies.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, molasses, salt, and vanilla extract. In a small bowl, whisk together both flours and set aside.

3. In a small saucepan, melt the butter until fully liquid but not starting to brown. Pour the melted butter into the bowl with the sugars and whisk carefully until the mixture is smooth and glossy.

4. Add the eggs, whisking between each one. Continue to whisk after the second egg until the mixture is lighter in color and slightly thicker in appearance.

5. Add the flours and switch to a rubber spatula to fold the mixture until there are no dry pockets of flour remaining. Pour into the prepared pan, smoothing the surface if needed, and scatter the cherries, sunflower seeds, and coconut over the surface.

6. Bake for 23-25 minutes until the top is golden and firm to the touch. If you like a soft, gooey blondie - remove from the oven after 20-21 minutes. Let cool in the pan, then remove and slice into 8-10 pieces. Enjoy!