maple pecan blondies

these tasty bars are entirely naturally sweetened with maple syrup and rounded out with toasted pecans and creamy white chocolate

Sometimes when I get an idea for something I want to bake, I first look around online to see if anyone else has already made it so that I can get an idea of the ratios they're using and get a rough roadmap for how to start as I form my own recipe. This week I wanted to make a blondie that was entirely naturally sweetened with maple syrup but when I searched around online for a maple syrup blondie, the only results were blondies that were actually mostly sweetened with brown sugar and then maybe a few tablespoons of maple syrup. Definitely not what I was looking for. On top of that, there were quite a few recipes that used maple extract in order to up the maple taste since they really weren't using much maple syrup, which is fine but not for me for two reasons: (1) for the most part, I try to avoid including ingredients in my baked goods that most people likely don't have on hand and would need to buy (there are exceptions to this, like the ricotta cookies that used fiori di sicilia extract, but I try to keep the exceptions few and far between); and (2) it was really hard to find a maple extract that didn't have suspicious or downright scary ingredients (propylene glycol, for instance, eek). So, anyways, that's all to say that sometimes baking with just natural sweeteners - not natural sweeteners plus white/brown sugars - is a solo endeavor and I was definitely on my own for these maple pecan blondies.

This recipe is truly such a delight and will make you feel like you're eating a delicious Sunday breakfast of pancakes or waffles covered in maple syrup in the form of a bar! As noted, it's entirely naturally sweetened with maple syrup and then I added in some chopped pecans and white chocolate to round it out. If you are interested in learning more about maple syrup and other natural sweeteners, check out my natural sweeteners 101 post but, in short, maple syrup is made from the boiled down sap of certain maple trees and is rich in minerals and antioxidants.

I hope you give these maple pecan blondies a try and if you are looking for other naturally sweetened blondies, check out my honey blondies with figs and pistachios or my cherry almond blondies with honey. Enjoy!

this time two years ago …

banana bars with coconut sugar & sourdough

this time last year …

coconut raspberry cake with coconut sugar

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maple pecan blondies

makes 16 bars

ingredients

• 80 grams pecans, roughly chopped

• 113 grams (1 stick, ½ cup) unsalted butter

• 150 grams all-purpose flour

• ½ tsp. salt

• 1 tsp. baking powder

• 165 grams maple syrup

• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

• 1 egg plus 2 egg yolks

• 35 grams white chocolate, chopped

directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 9x9 baking pan.

2. In a small pan over medium heat, toast the 80 grams roughly chopped pecans (this takes about 3-5 minutes, they should start to smell nutty and fragrant). Put in a bowl and set aside. Use this pan to melt 113 grams (1 stick) unsalted butter. Set aside and allow to slightly cool.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the 150 grams all purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon baking powder.

4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cooled butter, the 165 grams maple syrup, and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract. Whisk in the 1 egg and 2 egg yolks until thoroughly combined. Stir in the toasted pecans and the 35 grams chopped white chocolate.

5. Bake for about 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.