Cherry Almond Blondies

🧂 Ingredients

• 2 cups UNBLEACHED all-purpose flour

  (bleached flour toughens baked goods
• 2 cups light brown sugar

  packed
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup salted butter

  melted and browned (2 sticks)
• 2 tsp. almond extract
• 1 cup bananas

  mashed with a fork
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 2 cups pitted, diced cherries
• 1 cup vanilla chips

  or premiere white baking chips
• 1 cup diced almonds

  (I chopped sliced almonds for finer texture)
• 1/2 cup salted butter

  melted (1 stick)
• 1 cup light brown sugar

  packed
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 4 tbsp. half and half

  or whole milk
• 1 tsp. almond extract
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds

  or more, if desired
• 1/3 cup vanilla chips

  or premiere white baking chips (or more, if desired)

Instructions

• 1 To brown the butter: Place butter in saucepan over medium heat and bring to a
  boil.
• 2 Boil, stirring constantly until lightly browned.
• 3 This may take five or ten minutes.
• 4 Once butter has browned, place browned butter in a mixing bowl.
• 5 Add brown sugar and mix thoroughly with an electric mixer.
• 6 Allow mixture to cool about five minutes.
• 7 Meanwhile, place bananas on a plate and mash with a fork; set aside.
• 8 If the mixture still has not cooled sufficiently, wait a few more minutes before
  adding eggs, almond extract, mashed bananas and salt.
• 9 (So the egg doesn’t scramble!).
• 10 Mix again with electric mixer until thoroughly mixed.
• 11 Stir in flour, cherries, vanilla chips and almonds.
• 12 Stir mixture until well combined.
• 13 Pour mixture into a greased 9×13” glass baking dish.
• 14 Bake at 350° for about 45-50 minutes until a toothpick inserted in center comes
  out clean.
• 15 Allow blondies to cool completely before icing with Almond icing. 
• 16 Melt butter over medium heat in medium-sized saucepan.
• 17 Add brown sugar and half-and-half and bring to a boil.
• 18 Remove from heat.
• 19 Add almond extract.
• 20 Cool icing 5 minutes.
• 21 Add powdered sugar and whisk until smooth.
• 22 This may take three to five minutes to get all the lumps out.
• 23 Spread mixture quickly and smoothly over cooled blondies.
• 24 Sprinkle top of icing with almonds and then vanilla chips as evenly as possible.
• 25 Press vanilla chips and sliced almonds very lightly and gently into the icing to
  adhere.
• 26 Refrigerate blondies a few hours, or longer, before cutting into bars.

Nutrition Info