White chocolate and I are not exactly friends, so why am I posting a recipe featuring this most decidedly un-chocolate, chocolate? Because these white chocolate blondies are to die for!! Seriously! If even the teensiest part of you harbors any like for the white stuff, I urge you to try them!

My love for these blondies has a lot to do with the fact that during the baking process the white chocolate pieces you scatter across the top, turn golden brown and caramelized so that when you bite into these squares you get that creamy, dulce de leche thing going on mixed with the brown sugar caramelly chewiness of the cake-y part of the blondie. So much happiness!!

The other reason I love these so much is that there is a massive amount of toasted pecans involved. Not only do you mix them into the batter, but you also toss them on top along with the white chocolate, so that you literally can't take a bite without crunching down on one. Even more happiness!

And yet one more reason to love these guys--they are super easy to make--no mixer involved and they practically come together in one saucepan so there's virtually no cleanup either. Hooray! Could we get any happier?!!

Dark chocolate--you'll always be my BFF, but I think it's safe to say that I can definitely maintain a friendly acquaintance with white chocolate in certain instances, aka caramelized white chocolate pecan blondies! 

Caramelized White Chocolate Pecan Blondies

Makes 20 generous squares

Prep Time:  10-12 minutes; Bake Time:  25-30 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups toasted pecans (you can use halves or cut-up pieces), divided
• 4 ounces good quality white chocolate, roughly chopped, divided

The Recipe

1.  Preheat oven to 350ºF and line a 9x13-inch baking pan with aluminum foil. Spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

2.  In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together and set aside.

3.  Place the butter in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat and melt. Remove from the heat and stir in the brown sugar, making sure you get all the lumps. Then stir in the granulated sugar, eggs and vanilla and mix until well combined. Gradually add the flour mixture in three additions and stir until no trace of flour is visible. Then stir in half the pecans and half the chopped white chocolate pieces. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top, making sure you get it into the corners--the batter will be thick. Sprinkle the remaining pecans and chocolate evenly over the top.

4.  Bake for 25-28 minutes, until the top is golden brown, the white chocolate pieces look toasted and a tester inserted into the center comes out with just a few crumbs attached to it. Let the blondies cool entirely in the pan on a wire rack. Then use a sharp knife and cut into 20 squares. Blondies will last at least 3 days well wrapped or stored in an airtight container at room temperature.

Enjoy!

Note:  Recipe adapted from Flavorful by Tish Boyle. I upped the amount of chocolate and simplified the process by mixing everything in the saucepan rather than transferring the butter to another bowl--less cleanup!